A New Destiny
by Newbie1104
Summary: He knew that Henrietta had summoned him without a catalyst. That meant he was the best match for her. She needed help. She needed him. He was the solution for her problem. And surely, the two of them had something in common that they hadn't discovered yet. Shirou x Henrietta, AU. Rated T at the moment.
1. Kingdom of Tristain

_**Author's note:**_

**Here comes a new story from me. I've been planning on this one for a long time and finally, I decided to sit down and write it.**

**As you can see from the summary, this is a Shirou x Henrietta fic. I love that pairing, and was kind of sad to see that there aren't many fics about them out there, so in the end, I'll just go and make one.**

**Again, just like my two other stories; Shirou here comes from a mixed route of FSN, with UBW as the core. Shirou isn't in a relationship with any of the FSN girl in this story.**

**Finally, this is slight AU.**

**That's all for now, please enjoy. Feedbacks are always welcome.**

* * *

><p>Henrietta was having mixed emotion. Part of her was filled with excitement, while the other was anxious. All because finally, the day she had been waiting had come – the day of the familiar summoning that had been prepared for a long time.<p>

Summoning a familiar wasn't such a big deal, of course. However, for the princess, it entirely meant something else. Not long ago, her father – the King of Tristain, passed away. It wasn't confirmed that he died of natural cause or was assassinated. Henrietta suspected the latter. Her father was a healthy and strong man, he rarely ever got sick. It wasn't very convincing for someone like him to suddenly pass away. And the suspicion only grew firmer after she became the crown princess and gained more knowledge to the political situations going on around the neighboring countries. But in the end, without definite evidences, there wasn't anything she could do.

Needless to say, the unfortunate incident broke the hearts of both Henrietta and her mother – Marianne, the now former Queen of Tristain. Marianne, in despair over her husband's death, had stepped down. That was how Henrietta was made, or pushed to be exact, into becoming the Crown Princess of Tristain. Not that she was against it anyway, being as dutiful as she was. And the princess didn't resent her mother for her decision. Henrietta knew just how much she loved her father, and while Marianne didn't show much of her grief in front of her daughter, the princess could still hear her muffled sobbing during the night occasionally.

It wasn't like Henrietta was any better. She had had a fair share of nights where she cried herself to sleep. But now that she was the leader of her country, Henrietta knew that had to stop. After all, what kind of princess showed up in the morning, in front of her whole Council, with puffy red eyes?

Appearance aside, there was another reason why she couldn't afford to let herself being seen like that. She was a young, seventeen years old princess, whose experience in politics was next to none compared to some much older members of her own Council. Most of them were less than pleased with the decision of putting such a young girl into the highest position of power. Luckily, Henrietta was loved by the people of her country. Thanks to the pressure from public, together with the fact that she hadn't shown any weakness or made any mistake in front of them; that they still hadn't tried anything. But she knew that they were just patiently waiting for a chance where she slipped, before storming in and declaring that she was unfitted to be a ruler. And from the looks of things, that chance would surely come in the foreseeable future unless she did something about that right now.

In truth, Henrietta felt that she was still able to hold on until today was partially because of the supports from prince Wales of Albion – her cousin as well as lover. The thoughts about the handsome prince brought a smile to her lips as she walked to the room that had been specifically prepared for the summoning ritual. They'd been exchanging letters to each other, and each one from him was filled with loving and encouraging words that were able to cheer Henrietta up instantly. Of course, they hadn't met lately, and their love was still a secret seeing how…

As quickly as it appeared, her smile was gone, replaced by a sad look on her beautiful face. Albion was now facing a serious rebellion force, which was growing rapidly, stronger by each day. In that situation, their communication was interrupted, and prince Wales himself was now in constant danger. Henrietta worried for his safety to no end, but her hands were tied. She could only cling to the hope that he was still doing well, since if anything happened to Wales; that would be one of the first things included on the reports about the rebellion force that was delivered to her daily.

However, even that hope was gradually fading, from what Henrietta heard, the Albion's force was losing slowly. And as each day passed by, she wanted nothing more than leaving everything behind and come to him. But she knew she couldn't. Henrietta herself wouldn't allow it to happen. She was the ruler of this country. The people needed her, her mother needed her. She had her duties to fulfill.

And that wasn't even the worst of it. It was painfully obvious that the rebellion force wouldn't stop at just Albion. But Tristain itself was also a delicious prey. The King just died, and the current crown princess was an inexperienced girl, not to mention Tristain's military force was in a weakened state. They were in no position to fight. And in case Henrietta ignored all the political reasons and aided Albion; that still would be nothing but a suicidal move. Albion was famed for its unique placement. In order to reach there and break the rebellion's siege, Tristain would have to use its aerial force, the Griffin squadron, which was already very low on number. Besides, they would just become practice targets for the rebel's battle ships if they really tried to push the attack.

All in all, the situation Henrietta found herself in right now wasn't a pretty one, and even that'd already been a gross understatement. She was lonely, and scared deep inside. She needed helps. But maybe only some sort of miracle would be able to pull her out of the mess she was in.

Shaking her head to clear the troubled thoughts, Henrietta stepped inside the room. The magic circle had been drawn. There were two member of the Musketeer squadron stood guard beside the door and six more inside, along with her mother. She thought of it as unnecessary though, for whatever creature she would be summoning later, it should be safe. Even before the contract was sealed, it was a very low chance of her summoned familiar attacking its master. But Henrietta knew better than to decline the good will of the squadron Captain. In fact, she had tried and failed. That woman had absolutely refused to leave her alone anywhere outside of her bed chamber.

"Good morning, dear," Marianne said with a gentle smile. "How are you this morning? Is everything ready?"

"Good morning, mother," Henrietta bowed slightly and returned the smile. "Everything's going well. Actually, I think we can start now without any problem."

"That's good to hear. How are you feeling? Summoning ritual isn't a hard thing to do. But to gain your first familiar is a memorable event. What do you think it will be?"

"I honestly don't know," she shook her head. "But I think a griffin would be nice. Or something…you know, powerful…" She murmured the last part. Marianne seemed to understand what her daughter was hoping for, only smiled encouragingly and pulled her into a hug.

"I know what you're feeling, and I really hope that you will get what you want," she said. "But whatever your familiar turns out to be…"

"I will take good care of it," Henrietta nodded. "I know, mother."

"That's good. Now go, it's time for the ritual."

Following her mother's words, Henrietta stepped inside the magic circle. She then closed her eyes, focusing her magic and chanted, opening the magical door to her most suited familiar.

"_I, Henrietta de Tristain, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar."_

_Please, please, let me summon a familiar powerful enough to help me and my country, _she silently prayed desperately.

"I need help," those three words were whispered so quietly that only she could hear them.

Around her feet, the magic circle began to glow in a bright, but calming light. Henrietta knew that she was on the right track as she felt her magical power sipped from her, going into the circle. However, after five, ten, then twenty seconds, nothing happened.

_Did I mess up somewhere? _She wondered worryingly. But before the princess was able to voice that question, a loud explosion boomed right in front of her. Everything was soon covered in a thick screen of white smoke. After a moment of freezing in shock, Henrietta realized that something had gone wrong. She'd never heard of any summoning ritual ended up like that. But before she could do anything, much less call for anyone for help, a white gleam suddenly cut through the layer of smoke in front of her. And within just a blink of an eye, the princess felt the cold edge of a blade pressed against her neck. And just as she let out a surprise and horrified yelp, the attacker had left his original position, moving behind her back and held her in place. His blade was held still and firm, threatening that if Henrietta did something as much as move a little, it would be the last thing she got to do.

For the first time in a long time, Henrietta felt scared for her own life as tear threatened to fell out from the corner of her eyes.

* * *

><p>"I <em>knew<em> taking my eyes off of her was a mistake," Agnes, the Captain of the Musketeer squadron gritted her teeth as she raced through the hallway. Just a moment earlier, there was an explosion that shook the entire floor. That floor was almost deserted though, so beside a few guards that she put there, no one else knew about the incident.

Unfortunately, that was the floor where princess Henrietta was now performing her summoning ritual.

Upon reaching the door behind which was the room prepared for the ritual, Agnes kicked it open without hesitation, only to be welcomed by a thick curtain of white smoke. Not wasting another second, after seeing that the smoke wasn't harmful, she carefully stepped inside the room with sword in hand.

Agnes didn't have to wait long to see what was happening though. The smoke dispersed rather quickly, after a few seconds, she was able to see things in front of her. The guard Captain instantly realized the familiar purple hair of her princess. However, what she saw after that greatly shocked her.

In the middle of the room standing a horrified Henrietta. Behind her was a stranger that Agnes hadn't seen before. He was a young man in his early twenty at most, with auburn hair and golden brown eyes, which were now carefully observing the room around him. On his face, was a cautious look accompanied by a subtle hint of surprise. The boy, whoever he was, was wearing a strange set of clothes that Agnes was sure wasn't from around, his facial features suggested the same.

However, all of those details weren't as important as what he was doing. One of his hands was holding a white blade, which was now pressed firmly against Henrietta's neck, whiles his other hand holding her across her body, was also holding an identical looking black blade.

"You, release the princess this instance," Agnes grunted, ordering the stranger. Around the room, all of the guards had their swords out and pointed at him.

_He must be an assassin sent to kill the princess, _the guard Captain thought gravely. _How could the guards let an assassin snuck in without being spotted?_

All the while, Agnes's eyes hadn't left the boy even for a moment as her hand reached for the pistol strapped to her hip. She was waiting for him to slack his guard. And when worst came to worst, she and the others might just have to made some holes on him before he harmed the princess.

However, his respond wasn't what she expected.

"Princess…?" He asked hesitantly as his eyes widened a little, before quickly reverted to their original state.

"Don't play dumb," Agnes growled. "I don't know who you're. But I know why you're here. Now let her go, or I will make you."

To her annoyance and somewhat, fear, the boy started to smirk.

"Oh… How so? I'm the one with the hostage here," he said slowly. It looked like he wasn't used to speaking their language. "However, I mean no harm. As long as you aren't my enemies, that's it."

"Say the person who's holding a blade against someone else's neck," Agnes eyed him suspiciously, trying to buy some time. The boy was right; he definitely had the upper hand here. As much as she wanted to gut him, she couldn't let the princess be harmed.

"Safety measure. As far as I know, you may attack me the moment I release her."

_You're right about that, bastard, _Agnes glared at him.

"Seems like I was right," he grinned, making her frown. "That's good caution though. But I honestly just want to know what I've gotten myself into…"

"Don't deceive us," the Captain shouted back. "You're an assassin sent after the princess's life, aren't you?"

"Assassin?" The boy raised an eyebrow before chuckling. "I'm many things, lady, but never an assassin. If that was the case, this girl, the princess you say?...should've died already."

"Isn't that because you would've died too in that case?" Agnes asked. She was seriously annoyed his attitude by now. _Just keep talking, just a little more, I'll finish him the moment he lowered his guard._

"I doubt that," to her surprise, the boy grinned widely. "Inside this room, only the princess in my arms here has a chance at stalling me, and maybe that lady over there too," he flicked his head toward Marianne, who was now watching the scene with genuine fear as her daughter's life was being threatened. "The rest of you… No offence, but you guys won't stand a chance."

"You…You bastard, don't look down on us. We're the Musketeer Squadron, the best trained soldier in the whole Tristain," one of the guards behind him growled angrily.

"And you said all that while hiding behind your hostage, you coward?" Agnes mocked.

"I just prefer not to fight unnecessarily," the boy replied simply, unfazed. "And since no doubt that you guys will force my hand if I let her go…"

"Coward!" The Captain spat out.

"That's enough, Agnes," suddenly, Henrietta regained her voice and spoke up. Both Agnes and the stranger raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"If he wants to talk, we will hear him out," she said. Her voice trembling a little but one could see that the princess was trying to keep herself calm. "He was right. If he wanted me dead, I wouldn't be speaking right now. You wouldn't harm me, right, Mister?"

"But Your Highness…" Agnes started, but was stopped by Henrietta.

"Indeed, Your Highness," the boy nodded. His voice suddenly became softer. "I'm sorry for putting you into this uncomfortable situation. But I'm just as confused here and I need to ensure my safety."

"Very well," Henrietta replied. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

* * *

><p>Emiya Shirou was extremely confused. One moment ago, he was packing for his trip back to Japan inside his room at the Clock Tower. And now, he was in the middle of God-knows-where, having blades pointed at himself from all directions. He remembered stumbled upon a strange glowing oval shaped object on his way to retrieve some books that he forgot back down in his workshop and was sucked inside, falling into a pool of complete darkness before appearing here, inside this room.<p>

Right after landing, Shirou traced his favorite pair of blades – Kanshou and Bakuya as he started observing his surroundings. His vision was blocked by a thick curtain of smoke though, so he had to depend on his other senses. There were people shouting and talking all around, but judged by their voices, they were all panic and surprised as he was, and were outside of his reach. However, there were two sources of prana. One of them was far in the back of the room and while being strong, it was paled in comparison with the one right next to him.

After years of training under Rin and going on mission with the Enforcers, Shirou had learned that when something unexpected like this happened, it was best to strike first, and strike fast. He didn't know what was happening or who those people were. But at least he would have a better chance at defending himself with a hostage. Since there were magi amongst these people, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. Suddenly getting pulled into somewhere else? That sounded awfully familiar, just like what a certain Caster had done years ago to kidnap him.

So he struck. In his hand, Bakuya swung toward the nearest prana source with lighting speed. He didn't intend to kill the target. He wouldn't take life unnecessarily after all. But at the same time, he refused to let his life being taken for nothing.

_A girl? _Shirou wondered and stopped his blade as soon as he felt it touched the target's neck and heard a surprised yelp. Whoever she was, she wasn't a warrior. No warrior would yelp like that. But still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful. Immediately springing up on his feet, Shirou got to the girl's back and held her across his body while keeping Bakuya still where it was. He could feel his hostage stiffened in his arm.

After the smoke had dispersed, revealing the scene around, Shirou realized that he was inside a fairly large room, the same kind that could be seen at the Clock Tower with some kind of strange magic circle drawn under his feet. For a moment, he thought that it was just an accident. Just a careless magus had made a mistake with her experiment and well…transported him from his room somehow. However, Shirou quickly dismissed that thought.

Firstly, he didn't recognize the girl in his arm. A beautiful girl, younger than him, with short purple hair and a slender face. Shirou doubted that he wouldn't recognize someone like this if she was a member of the Clock Tower.

Secondly, there were soldiers pointing their swords at him. Shirou was absolutely sure that they were mundane people since one of his best fortes was the ability to sense magic, and they had none. And it was a known fact that the Clock Tower wouldn't allow anyone who wasn't a magus to enter their territory.

_Well, normal human soldiers are no match for me, _he mused. _But since it's come to this, I doubt that they would agree to solve things peacefully anymore. Better holding onto the hostage for a little longer._

And he was right, as a second later; another guard kicked the door open and demanded him to release the princess, as she put it. She spoke in what Shirou recognized as French. While he wasn't too fluent on said language, he could still speak it. Many of the magi at Clock Tower as well as some people inside the Enforcers were French. After spending time with them for years, Shirou was able to pick up the language. He then studied it some more, as he saw the benefits of learning other languages, especially for his plan to travel the world, helping out people. Shirou had never thought that it would become handy in a situation like this though.

But it was still a relief, if he didn't know French, then his entire plan to negotiate would've crumbled even before it began.

However, after a few minutes of exchanging words, Shirou started to feel that his effort was fruitless. Although, he was never a good negotiator to begin with, the woman, who appeared to be the Captain, was very stubborn. She insisted that he was some kind of assassin sent to kill the princess, who was in his arm right now. He had to note that for a normal human, she was a formidable soldier. From the way she held herself, to the way she walked, or how her hand had already ready on the trigger of the pistol on her hip. And there was also how she looked out for her princess's safety, all the while waiting for him to slack his guard to strike. There was no way Shirou would give her that chance though.

It was commendable, of course. But in this situation, it just served to worsen his growing headache.

Luckily, just as he was about to deem his effort of negotiating as a lost cause, the princess spoke up for the first time, stopping her guard from talking any further and decided to hear him out. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Very well," she said, staying still and looking ahead. "Then what do you want to talk about?"

"First of all, where are we?" Shirou asked.

"This is the royal castle, Kingdom of Tristain," the princess replied.

"Never heard of it," he mumbled, trying to shake his brain to find any memory regarding the mention of said country name. Needless to say, he failed miserably. "Where is it, exactly? Europe? America? You surely don't look like Asian."

"Where are those countries?" She asked with a hint of curiosity. "I've never heard of them either."

"Really?" Shirou's eyes widened in surprise. "How could you not? Where on Earth…"

"How could you not hear of Tristain?" This time it was the guard – Agnes – spoke. "Our country is very famous within Halkeginia."

"What is that? A continent?"

"It's _this _continent, idiot."

_How could I've not heard of it if it was an entire continent? _Shirou wondered, deeply confused. _And how the heck haven't they heard of America or Europe? _Then a thought suddenly hit him like a Gandr curse fired by Rin herself. It was crazy, no doubt, but he couldn't think of any possible explanation.

_Did I somehow get to another world? _He started to panic, but managed to keep himself calm, on the outside at least. _But that's impossible. Only Zelretch knows the Second Magic to travel between alternate worlds. Or is this a bad prank from the old blood sucker?_

"So where are you from?" The princess asked, cutting off his train of thoughts. "Also, how did you get here?"

"I'm from Japan," he answered. "And for the latter question, that's what I want to ask too. I was just going down a corridor before bumping into a glowing oval shaped object. The next second, I was here."

Upon hearing his answer, he felt the girl in his arm stiffened even more for a second, before starting to relax her body and let out a sigh.

"In that case," she said slowly. "I may have the answer for you. It's unbelievable, but still… Can you please let go of me first? I swear that we won't harm you in anyway."

"Not convincing enough," Shirou shook his head.

"Right, everybody, please put away your weapons and leave us alone," the princess ordered. "But can my mother stay though?" She asked, and Shirou agreed. Her mother, who the other magus appeared to be, wasn't much of a threat.

"But Your Highness," Agnes, on the other hand, started to protest. The other guards weren't willing to budge either. "He's dangerous. He threatened you and tried to kill you."

"I may have threatened her. But I've done nothing such as trying to kill her," Shirou retorted. But just as the Captain tried to argue, the princess raised her hand, despite the blade pressed against her neck.

"Agnes, and all of you. I order you to leave us alone. Mother, please stay with us," she said gently but firmly. And everyone knew that her order was absolute. One by one, the guards started leaving. Agnes was the last to linger inside the room. But after a final glare from the princess, she also left after casting a hateful look toward Shirou.

After confirming that they were away with his reinforced hearing, Shirou finally relaxed and released his hostage, carefully put some distance between him and the magi.

"Thank you very much," the princess and her mother bowed a little.

"Eh… You're welcome?" Shirou was confused. Did his hostage and her mother just seriously thanked him?

"Now that we've been safe, it's time to clear some misunderstanding. My name is Henrietta. I'm the crown princess of the Kingdom of Tristain. And this is my mother, Marianne."

"Emiya Shirou," he bowed slightly. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry that our first meeting wasn't ideal. And I'm sorry, madam, for threatening your daughter…"

_Did I just really take a princess hostage? _ Shirou thought. He was now freaking out on the inside. However, it didn't look like he was getting into trouble, judging from the way they talked to him.

Marianne stared at him for awhile, and was about to say something. She opened her mouth a little, but then decided against it and stayed silent for another couple of minute, before saying. "I understand where that came from. And judging from your answer, I also know why you're here and how that must've shocked you. But if you lay your hand on Henrietta again…" She then left the sentence hanging, but Shirou knew what she wanted to say. Never, ever, it was a good idea to challenge a mother's love.

"Of course, madam," he bowed again. "Then can you please explain to me just how I got here?"

"You were summoned, by me it seems," Henrietta replied. "I know it sounds crazy. I myself don't really believe it either, but it's the only explanation…"

And Shirou knew she was telling the truth, at least the part about her didn't believe her own words.

"Summoned?" He repeated as his eyes widened.

"I'm sorry. It must've been a shock for you. I take it magic isn't popular where you came from?"

"That's not it," Shirou shook his head. "But human summoning?" He asked. Of course, he had deal with summoned Servants before. But they were Heroic Spirits given human forms. Summoning a living human being on the other hand…

"That's what I thought too," Henrietta nodded. "I also never have heard of anything like this. But you see, I was doing a familiar summoning ritual. And just as I finished chanting, you appeared in the magic circle."

"We have a way to find out if that's the truth," Marianne spoke. "All you need to do is to complete the contract, dear. If you're able to do so with him, then he is indeed your familiar. But I'm surprised to see that you summoned a mere human as your familiar, someone who appeared to be a commoner at that."

From her voice, Shirou could feel that he had been insulted somehow. But now wasn't time for trivial matters. He needed to find out if he was really summoned here, to another world, if his suspicion was correct.

"I also feel the same, mother," Henrietta lowered her head. And Shirou felt like he had been insulted once again. Was summoning him really that much of a shame?

"But I'll take good care of my familiar, no matter what, or who is summoned," she concluded before turning back to him. "Mister Emiya Shirou, can we please try to complete the contract now?"

"Just Shirou is fine, Your Highness," he nodded. "And yes, it should clear things up faster that way."

"Very well, then allow me…" She said and started getting closer to him. Shirou instantly tighten his grips around his blades, but didn't do anything else. Henrietta then took a few other steps and was now standing right in front of him, blushing a little.

"Alright. Here I go," she said. _"My name is Henrietta de Tristain. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, bless this humble being, and make him my familiar."_

The princess then started leaning in. And Shirou knew instantly what she was trying to do. He only had a second to note that Henrietta looked even cuter up close now that he had a chance to look at her carefully before her lips pressed against his. They were incredibly soft, and the smell of her perfume was very comfortable and gentle.

"Ugh…" Suddenly, a surge of prana violently ran through his Magic Circuits, no doubt coming from her. That confirmed it, the contract had been established, and he was now taking supply energy from his master. That also meant that he was definitely summoned. And in front of him, Shirou could see that Henrietta was feeling it too as she grimaced and groaned a little at the sudden sensation of her magic being sipped.

_Just as I thought, _he mused, considering the large amount of prana he was receiving. _She's very powerful. Not Rin-level powerful, but close._

A burning sensation of focused prana gathered on his left forearm. And when Shirou glanced down to check, he saw some unfamiliar Runes had engraved themselves there, glowing brightly for a few seconds.

After a brief moment, Henrietta broke the kiss. She then looked at him in the eyes and smiled, still flushing. "It seems like I was correct. That's the familiar Runes. And can you feel it, Shirou? Our bond?"

"I certainly can, Y…Master," Shirou bowed. "You really are a powerful mage."

"Thank you," the princess nodded. "That settles it for now. Let us go back to my room, there're still many questions I want to ask you. And then there's also the issue of how to present you in front of the whole Council. They know I'm doing the ritual today, and surely they will want to know what my familiar is."

"You shouldn't let them know you summoned a commoner, dear," Marianne said and Shirou winced. He didn't know what the 'commoner' title meant in this world. But from the way the woman said it, it wasn't something to be held in high regard.

"It would be worse to let them think that I failed and couldn't summon anything, mother," Henrietta replied calmly. "And hiding him will raise suspicions. Besides, if what Shirou said was true, then he may not be just any commoner."

"Pardon?"

"He said that Agnes and her guards, the most competent non-magical squadron of our country, would stand no chance against him," the princess glanced at him. "And also both you and me could only stall him, isn't that right, Shirou?"

"Indeed, that was what I said, Master," he replied.

"What if you were just bluffing, familiar?" Marianne turned to him. "What do you have to back up your words?"

"Madam, I assure you that I can very well live up to my words," Shirou said evenly. "But before that, I still have question. Why do you keep calling me commoner? Well, I can understand that anyone beside royalty can be considered as such. But I can't help but think that there's something more behind the title."

"Shirou, a commoner is someone who isn't blessed with the gift of magic by our Founder Brimir," Henrietta explained. "And for those who is, they're called the Nobles. That's us, me and my mother."

"So it's as simple as that? The ability to use magic is what decides your rank in the society?" He raised an eyebrow. It wasn't an unfamiliar setting. The strong ruled over the weak. Even between the magi back at the Clock Tower, such procedure existed as well.

Henrietta nodded in confirmation.

"But well, even by that definition, I may still be a commoner," Shirou shrugged in respond. "Because I'm sure that whoever that Founder Brimir is, my power didn't come from him."

"You… You can use magic?" Both the princess and her mother's eyes widened at the revelation.

"The proper term that I use is 'magecraft', Master," he corrected her. "Shall I demonstrate here? After all, my abilities shouldn't be a secret to my Master. But it would need more than both words to explain."

Staring at him for a long while, Henrietta finally nodded.

* * *

><p>Henrietta was deeply amazed. Surrounding her familiar was now hundreds of swords of all kinds, floating in midair. What was more? It seemed like Shirou just created them out of thin air, he used neither a wand nor an incantation. And more of them were still appearing continuously.<p>

_Earth magic? _She wondered. To be able to achieve a feat such as that, Shirou must be at least a Square-level mage of Earth element, maybe mixed with Wind to make those swords float like that. Behind her, Marianne was also stared at the scene wordlessly. Shock was transparent on her face.

"Is this suffice, Master?" Shirou asked, still looking at her. The number of swords was still increasing rapidly.

"Yes, very," Henrietta nodded. "Thank you, Shirou. However, that raises another problem."

"What is it?" He asked. And instantly, all of the swords around him dissolved into thin air. She blinked at the scene, but didn't comment on it.

"Well, you can use magic, that make you a Noble," Henrietta sighed. "But again, the laws stated that we weren't allowed to form a familiar contract with another Noble, for the contract has a side effect. It will bend the familiar's mind to follow and obey the Master's orders, complete submission."

"Ah… In that case, worry not, Master. I'm sure that I'm still acting out of my own mind, for my magecraft granted me the ability of magic resistance, I can fend off things like mind control with ease. And just as I said, since my power doesn't come from Founder Brimir, I'm not a Noble."

"Even if that's the case,…Emiya," Marianne said, suddenly addressed him differently. It seemed like it was true that the Noble title had a big influence here. "Don't expect anyone here to buy that explanation."

"We know you're telling the truth, Shirou," Henrietta spoke up just as he was about to retort. "I can see it in your eyes. But you have to understand, me and many other Royal Council members, we're… not really on friendly term. They're all waiting for me to slip up so they can bring me down. Summoning a commoner as a familiar is one thing, sure, it will damage my reputation, but still better than complete failure. And it's certainly way better than breaking the rule and establishing a contract with a Noble."

"If your power got out, Emiya, they will cling onto that reason to bring down Henrietta," Marianne continued. "You're still young, and surely aren't from around here. So I feel the need to remind you that politics is a dangerous and delicate game. Don't show them any weakness to exploit. At that point, even if you get angry and threaten them, or resort to violence, it will only worsen the situation for your Master."

"I think I can understand that," Shirou nodded. "I was an apprentice until just recently. And my mentor also had one hell of a reputation to uphold. Thank you for your concern, madam," he then looked at Henrietta. "So I guess for now I will hide my power?"

"That's the plan. Do you have any other talent other than ma…magecraft?"

"Well, I'm a swordsman, as you can see," Shirou raised Kanshou and Bakuya, which were still in his hand. He then dismissed them and traced a long black bow – Shirou's bow as he called it. It was a tweaked version of Servant Archer's bow used in the Fifth Holy Grail War. "I also take pride in my skill with a bow."

"Really? That's good then," Henrietta smiled. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to announce that I've summoned you, a commoner. And you will be made into my personal guard. That way I can have you by my side all the time without much question. And you will only take direct order from me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Master," he nodded. "Of course, that goes without saying that I'll take your order alone. I was summoned here to help you. You're the only one who have authorize over me."

_To help me…? _Henrietta paused a little at his words. It was true that she had asked for help. _Was that why I summoned him? I have confidence in my skill; there was no way that I messed up something as simple as familiar summoning ritual. But here he is. Something that's never happened before, happened right after my prayer…_

_Nonsense, there's nothing indicates that was what happened, _she quickly shook her head. "Well, Shirou, let's go to meet the Council. I will have your own quarter assigned later. My apologize, I thought that my familiar was going to be an animal of some kinds, so I was prepared for it to be in the same room as me."

"It's alright," Shirou smiled, dismissing the bow. "If possible, can I have a room near yours? I wouldn't be able to assist you effectively if I stayed too far from you."

"Emiya," Marianne suddenly asked. "How old are you?"

"Me? I'm twenty one. Why do you ask, madam?"

"And Henrietta's seventeen," the woman continued. "Do you honestly think that it's a good idea to let you near my daughter every night? I trust her, but you I've just met. I'm sorry if it sounds rude but please understand a mother's concern."

"Mother!" Henrietta immediately protested. Her face flushed a little. "Nothing will happen. He won't be in the same room, and did you forget that Agnes has two people from her squadron stand guard outside of me room at all time?"

"But Emiya himself said that those guards wouldn't stand a chance against him. If he really wanted to…"

The princess then threw an apologetic glance at Shirou. But the boy didn't seem to be offended at all. In fact, he was just stand there and watching them with a smile.

"Don't worry, madam," finally he said. "It's true that our ages are close, and my Master is certainly a very beautiful girl. But even I know that it's inappropriate for a knight to think of his princess that way."

"That's right, mother," Henrietta nodded quickly. "Do you really think I would let anything like that happen? And not to mention that I've already had Wales…" She let the sentence hanging and looked down. Her cheeks reddened a bit more.

_Really, mother, _she thought to herself. _With all the speech, you just did this to amuse yourself, didn't you?"_

* * *

><p>Shirou was standing on the balcony of his newly assigned room. Finally, evening came, and his first day in this foreign world was now coming to an end.<p>

He casted his look to as far as he could see with his enhanced vision. It was a nice city in his opinion, but wasn't a modern one. Of course, Shirou should've realized that after an entire day spent inside a medieval castle like this.

Leaning against the wall, he turned his gaze up to the sky. There were two moons, and they were both much bigger than the one back in his original world. However, after all the strangeness that Shirou had seen in his life. Maybe something like that couldn't surprise him as much as it should.

Now that the day was over, Shirou finally had some time alone to reflect on today's events. Everything happened so suddenly and swiftly. And he had to admit that even now, his mind was still trying to comprehend the fact that this wasn't just a dream. Shirou was sure that by this time, Rin was freaking out back at the Clock Tower. It was understandable though, he disappeared without warning, with his luggage was still in the middle of packing. A shiver ran down his spine thinking of what the prodigy magus had in store for him once he came back.

_But can I ever come back? _He wondered and felt his chest tightened a little. Now that he was sure that it wasn't due to some cruel prank of Zelretch that he ended up here, but the result of a summoning ritual, how will he come back? Then there was also the contract with Henrietta. Of course, a contract could be easily severed whenever Shirou wanted, but after spending the day talking with her, he realized something.

That girl needed help.

She didn't appear desperate about it. But he could see it in her eyes. Her situation wasn't a beautiful one, having to deal with silent oppression from her own Council, while preparing the country for a possible invasion. Not to mention the fact that Henrietta was now being forced to stay out of the way while her lover was in danger, all in the name of politics. Wasn't that too heavy of a burden for a seventeen years old girl? Sooner or later, his Master would collapse from the weight of her own responsibilities.

_And knowing that, can I still bring myself to leave her? Assuming I can find a way back… _The answer was awfully clear. Shirou didn't know much about summoning rituals. But he knew that Henrietta had summoned him without a catalyst. That meant he was the best match for her. She needed help. She needed him. He was the solution for her problem. And surely, the two of them had something in common that they hadn't discovered yet.

_I'm sorry, Rin. It looked like I have to take my trip sooner than expected, _Shirou snorted dryly. His original plan was to travel the world, of course. But now, he had taken a step further and went straight to another world. _Damn you and your E rank luck, Archer, _he silently cursed. The only explanation for him being pulled into mess after mess was because he was blessed with a certain damned Counter Guardian's luck.

Shaking his head to clear the unhappy thoughts, Shirou decided that for the time being, there was no other way for him than remain here, helping his Master out of whatever trouble she was going to find herself in. Just like Henrietta, he was inexperienced in politics. But he could be her sword, protecting her from dangers and fight for her cause. And together, they could improve on whatever they were lacking. Even though they had just met, Shirou had been with her the entire day. And from the way he saw her interacting with people around the castle as well as normal citizens, he decided that Henrietta was worthy of being his Master. She was strong, powerful, kind, warm and gentle, and most of all, loved by her people. Someone like that couldn't possibly be a bad person.

Seeing it was getting late, Shirou got back inside, taking a quick bath before throwing himself on his bed. He was exhausted, not physically, but mentally, from the hectic day. He decided that it would be best to get some rest right now, and deal with the remaining problems later. He didn't need much sleep. But it was better to think with a clear and well-rested head.

**End of Chapter 1.**


	2. Life in the castle

_**Author's note:**_

**Here comes the second chapter. **

**Wow, 37 reviews, 180 favorites and 232 follows for the first chapter. I'm very happy and grateful for your support. It really motivated me to continue writing.**

**Also, I'm sorry for any mistake I've made. I've corrected the shower issue and any misspelled word that was pointed out by my reviewers. I'm also sorry for the grammar mistakes. I've done my best to weed them out but Words and my English skill can only help that much. I need to find a beta soon.**

**Well, that's all for now. Please enjoy.**

* * *

><p>"No way…" Shirou murmured between short breaths as he raced down the candle lit hallway. Taking a quick glance back, he saw that his pursuers had been cut off. That didn't mean he could relax though. Shirou didn't know how many of them were there, but every time he thought that he had escaped, more of them instantly appeared and the chase continued.<p>

_Damn it, there they are, _the boy silently cursed as he saw three others of his pursuers jumped out at the end of the hallway, intercepting his path. Shirou wasted no time though. He took the nearest right turn and kept running. _And the worst part of it is that I can't harm them at all._

While being chased, Shirou noticed that something was out of ordinary. They had let him run. The groups that blocked his paths didn't seem too interested in chasing him either. But instead, just more and more of them showed up and he didn't know how they did it, but the leader's group that had been chasing him around always seemed to be able to catch up with him while it was normally impossible for them to do so. To the boy's horror, he had a faint feeling that they had just been playing around with him.

In the end, it took Shirou several more minutes to realize what his pursuers really wanted. After taking another right turn to avoid the fourteenth intercepting group, he found himself facing a dead end with the only way out was to turn around.

However, even that option wasn't available now. Just as he turned on his heel, the leader's group had arrived, blocking his only hope of escaping. It seemed like the rest of them had regrouped as well.

_How many of them are there? _Shirou stared at them with eyes widened in horror. _One hundred? Maybe even more than that…_

"Well, well, Sir Emiya," the leader said sweetly. "It looks like the fun is over. You've been cornered."

"You've been planning this from the start, haven't you?" He grunted accusingly.

"Indeed. You may be much stronger and faster than us. But we have number. And certainly, we know this place much more than you do. Now surrender."

Taking it as an order, Shirou's pursuers slowly approached him; each of them was having a sadistic gleam in their eyes. He shivered slightly at the sight as cold sweats started breaking out on his forehead.

_I blame you for this, Master, _gritting his teeth, Shirou desperately looking around, trying to find a way to escape the fate that was awaiting him if he let himself get caught.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, said Master was sitting in her room, enjoying a cup of tea with her mother. Their tea time was a custom that the two of them had shared with each other for a long time. Those 'bonding' times between mother and child as Marianne liked to call them.<p>

"The castle sure is lively today, don't you agree?" The former queen asked in an even tone, but a small smile could be seen tugging the corner of her mouth.

"Yes, it is, mother," Henrietta replied with an amused smile of her own.

"Are you sure it's fine for the maids to be running around like that?" Marianne cast a glance at her daughter after sipping on her tea. "And to involve Emiya as well…"

"They don't have to prepare our dinner for about another hour or so, so I've given my permission to the Head Maid. Besides, I haven't seen them having that much fun for a long time."

"Indeed. It wasn't an everyday thing for a male commoner that wasn't a guard on duty to appear inside the castle. Not to mention that you've specifically ordered them to force dress him by any means necessary…"

"That's because Shirou refused to wear the proper outfit for a guard when I asked him personally, mother," Henrietta retorted. "Saying how it would look ridiculous on him and what not. I think I heard him murmured that the outfit itself is ridiculous."

"And yet from the look on your face, I can't say that you mind," Marianne smirked slightly.

"A little insulting of him to say that, I have to admit," the princess sipped on her tea and sighed. "But he does have a point. I also feel that his current outfit suits him better than ours. But it was worth it for the maids to have fun chasing their new dress-up doll for awhile. That serves as his punishment as well."

She then grinned; remembering the outfit Shirou had worn (and was still wearing). It was some kind of long sleeved black and white coat and matching trousers, made from a material that she hadn't seen before. In her eyes, it strangely suited Shirou and certainly it allowed him to move more freely than Tristain's guard armor. However, that suit offered next to none protection as Henrietta saw it. Not to mention it seemed to lean toward the casual side.

"Still, you should order him to wear something more appropriate for a royal guard. Or at least something that might benefit him in a fight," Marianne spoke up and Henrietta agreed, since that was also what she had in mind.

"I'll have a talk with him later, after the maids had done with him," the princess answered and her mother chuckled. "But to be honest, I'm a bit relieved that he refused my order. Though it was more of a request than an actual order."

"Oh?" Marianne raised an eyebrow. "Why is that, dear?"

"He's a human, mother," Henrietta replied. "A Noble at that. It wouldn't be right if I were to force him into submission against his will. That's why I was a bit startled after hearing him called me 'Master' right after finishing our contract. I think it would be fine with an animal since it might be dangerous. But a human being…"

"May be even more so," her mother finished the sentence, shaking her head. "Of course you're the Crown Princess now, so your word is final. But take this little advice from your mother."

"I'm grateful, mother. And I promise I will be careful around Shirou. But somehow I think I can trust him. If he wanted to harm me, then yesterday was the perfect chance," she smiled. _Especially when it seemed like he comes after my prayer. I can't prove it, but somehow, my mind keeps telling me that it's the right explanation…_

"That wasn't what I mean by 'dangerous', Henrietta," Marianne sighed. "You have to be aware of your position. You're a royal princess; that means you have political power and wealth. Not to mention you're very beautiful," she then paused a little and looked at her daughter with a proud smile. "Those are what a cunning man will aim for, rather than your life."

"If worst comes to worst, I'll be able to defend myself, mother. I'm quite powerful, as you've already known. At least I think I can keep him away long enough should the need arise. Besides, his power may just be what I need now…"

"What do you intend to do with Emiya? Send him to Albion to Wales' aid?"

"That was my original intention," Henrietta sipped on her tea again. Somehow the discussion had taken a serious turn. "But now I don't think it's such a good idea anymore. As much as I'm worried for Wales, I have responsibility for Shirou and my people. If I were to send him to Albion, his sudden absence would raise unwanted questions. Also, no matter how powerful Shirou is, he is just one man. I doubt that it would be able to turn the table."

The princess then closed her eyes tightly for a moment. As reasonable as they sounded, those words were cutting her deep inside. She loved Wales and was so worried for his well being. But Henrietta also knew that her prince wouldn't approve the action of recklessly sending her familiar to the battlefield without any guarantee of succeed, not to mention damaging her own reputation in the progress.

_I'm sorry, dear, _she vowed silently. _Just hold on a little longer, I'll find a way to help you as soon as possible…_

"Are you alright?" Marianne, no doubt sensed her daughter's troubled feelings, reached out and took Henrietta's hand in her own.

"I'm fine. Thank you, mother," the princess opened her eyes and gave her mother a smile. "Anyway, for the time being, I think Shirou's power will be greatly needed here. In order to help Albion, we will have to strengthen our military and Council first. From what I gathered, there're many Nobles within our rank that were corrupted, abusing their power over the commoners and even accepting bribe or taking part in shady business. But then, without solid evidence, my hands are tied, once again, just like father's case," she paused. Although it had been quite some time since the King's death, its mentioning still made her heart ache and tear welled up in her eyes.

"I'll have him and Agnes gathering evidences for me for the time being," Henrietta concluded after calming down. "We will discuss this together after I found out more about Shirou's true potential. With Earth magic of that level, surely it wouldn't stop at just creating swords. And I'm going to use that to my advantage."

"A wise course of action," Marianne commented. "But I still say that it's risky to let a stranger take part in that plan of yours."

"I have no choice, mother," Henrietta sighed. "Agnes is the only one I can trust in this castle beside you. And Shirou is my familiar, so I have to wager on him. We don't have time to hesitate now that a door had been opened for us with his arrival. The longer we wait, the direr the situation becomes."

"I hate to agree to that, but you're right," the former queen sighed heavily. "I just hope that you chose the right people to place your trust."

"I…" She was about to answer, but right at that moment, there were other voices on the other side of the door.

"Emiya, oh Brimir, what happened to you?" Henrietta heard one of the guard asked in astonishment.

"You can't go in there. Your Highness has ordered us not to accept any visitor," the second guard said firmly. She then hesitated a little before adding. "But really, why are you looking like that?"

"Maids…" was the murmured answer from Shirou that no doubt confused the two. Henrietta and Marianne on the other hand, just looked at each other and giggled lightly. The princess then walked toward and opened the door. In front of her standing two wide eyed guards, together with a pitiful looking Shirou. His hair and clothes were a mess. Cold sweats covered his face and he was breathing wildly just like he had just finished a marathon. Which in fact, he had.

Clearing her throat to cover up the laughter that was threatening to escape, Henrietta then asked, feigning surprise. "Shirou? What happened to you?"

"You…" He stuttered, but finally sighed in resignation. "Never mind. I've never realized that you were such a petty person, Master. But please don't comment on that. Just let me in before the maids found me."

"So you agree to wear the outfit that I requested?"

"No freaking way, Master," he answered flatly, making the two guards' eyes widened even more in shock at the way he speak to the princess.

"Watch your language, Emiya," from inside the room, Marianne stepped out and scolded him. "I don't know how you normally speak. But please restrain from using such word around my daughter."

"As long as she stopped unleashing the maids on me, madam," Shirou bowed a little. "And I have good reason to prefer my outfit over the armor, Master," he turned to Henrietta. "You just never let me explain myself."

"You mean beside its appearance isn't up to your liking?" The princess raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Well, come in then," Henrietta eyed him a little before saying. She then turned to her mother. "I'm sorry, mother. I think we have to end our bonding time early today."

"It's alright," Marianne replied with a smile. "You need to bond with your familiar as well. And certainly there're many other important things to do than chatting over a cup of tea."

"Spending time with you is just as important as any other, mother."

"I understand, dear," the former queen waved her hand with a smile. "So same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow," Henrietta nodded. Her mother then turned away and left.

"You two please return to your duty. And absolutely no visitor this time. Call me when it's dinner time," she told the guards before closing the door and walked back inside. There were many things that she wanted to ask Shirou now that his little chase with the maids was over.

* * *

><p>"So for the reason I prefer my outfit," Shirou began his explanation after he and Henrietta had sat down at her table. "It's because your armor restricted my movement. If it's protection that you're worrying about, then don't. With my magecraft, I can strengthen my clothes to stop attacks from mundane weapons just like any armor. Besides…" He then stood up and started rolling up one side of his trousers, revealing an array of Runes on the inside.<p>

"Those Runes, when activated will give me an instant boost to my speed for a brief moment, enough to surprise any opponent. And I don't want to go through the progress of engraving them all over again on a set of metal armor," he explained. That array was used by Rin. According to the prodigy magus, it was those Runes that saved her life on her first encounter with Lancer Cu Chulainn. Shirou figured that having a burst of speed beyond his reinforcement level was always an advantage.

Besides those Runes, during his time at the Clock Tower, Shirou had learned a lot of others as well. But since he'd already had his 'Reinforcement', there was no use to engrave strengthening Runes on his clothes. Therefore, he only used those in making bounded fields, which was also one of the things that he could do quite well now.

"I see," Henrietta nodded. "But still, can I suggest something more appropriate? You can't dress like that all the time as my personal guard. And I think something more… fitting will be more suited in a fight than those clothes."

"I have a set of battle outfit, back home that is," Shirou sighed. He had made an imitation of Archer's black armor using a different material. However, it was currently lying inside his trunk back at the Clock Tower at the moment. "But I think I can make one more if I have the necessary materials."

"What do you need then? I can order our craftsmen to make it for you."

"Thank you, Master. But I prefer to do it myself," he smiled. It would take much less time to craft the set using his 'Alteration' rather than wait for the others to do the same. "As for the things I need, I can give you a list later. Is that acceptable?"

"I guess it is," Henrietta nodded after pondering for a moment. "Let's move on then. I've wanted to ask you since yesterday. Why did you suddenly address me as 'Master' instead of 'Your Highness' after our contract? Are you sure the mind controlling isn't affecting you?"

"I'm sure," Shirou answered, looking straight into her eyes. "I address you as 'Master' because…well, you're my master. Of course, there isn't any obligation regarding such thing. I just wanted to honor…an old friend. I can call you 'Your Highness' or even your name. Just so you know I'm not bound by the side effect of the contract."

"Then I think it's fine to address me the way you did before our contract," Henrietta said, sighing. "I'm not really comfortable with the whole 'Master' title. Especially when you use it in front of the others."

"As you wish, Your Highness," Shirou nodded. "On that note, I've got something bugging me too."

"What is it, Shirou?"

"Right, yesterday I was too confused to really realize it. But didn't you say that you were worried because you think I was a Noble?"

"I said it would raise unwanted troubles," Henrietta corrected. "What about it?"

"Then what if I was really just a commoner? Would you just go ahead and seal the contract without giving it any thought at all?"

As if seeing where Shirou wanted to go with his questions, the princess smiled sweetly before standing up with him.

"Shirou," she said softly. "Commoner or Noble; we're still human. I still wouldn't be able to have a goodnight sleep knowing that I'd just enslaved a human being against his will. That law was only there to prevent the Nobles from taking advantage of another Noble. Besides, I don't think that any Noble would take a commoner as their familiar."

"What a comforting consolation," Shirou snorted humorlessly, feeling the anger building up within him. "In the end it was only because you Nobles looked down on the commoners. And by the way the law is phased; it appeared that whoever wrote that line didn't care about the commoner's rights and freedom at all, since it's still fine to bend the mind of the commoners against their will."

What an unfair world. It seemed like the wedge between social classes here was deeper than he thought. By no mean it was alright to mess with a person's mind and enslave him. Of course, as far as Shirou knew, nothing like that had ever happened. But still, in theory, that was accepted by the law, one that completely disregarded the rights of those who were considered lesser beings, just because they couldn't use magic.

"Shirou…" Henrietta hesitated.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I know you're not like that," Shirou assured her. "The way you trust Agnes is enough to prove it. And I'm not saying that all Nobles are like that either. But to have that kind of people sitting at the top and writing the laws? I don't think I can accept that," by now, he could feel his anger was slipping out with his words, as his voice started trembling. However, Shirou knew that it was unfair to direct that anger toward Henrietta, so he tried his best to restrain it. After all, the girl had done nothing wrong.

"You know what, Shirou. I agree," the princess said solemnly while looking deep into his eyes. "There're way too many unworthy and corrupted Nobles sitting in powerful positions within our Council. Let them be and they will only cause harm to our country and people."

"Then why not punish them?"

"It's not that simple," Henrietta shook her head sadly. "They're very cunning and slippery. The evidences of their wrong doings, if any still exist, were hidden very well. And I can't do anything without getting my hands on those. If only there's a way to bring those corrupted bastards to light…"

Shirou's eyes widened in shock at the normally graceful princess's choice of word. He then chuckled loudly, earning a shy smile from Henrietta.

"I'm sorry, it seems like Agnes has been rubbing off on me," she murmured. Her cheeks reddened a little as she looked away bashfully. And Shirou couldn't help but notice that she looked even more beautiful and cute that way. He found himself staring for several seconds before snapping out of it.

"I don't mind that. But I can't say the same for your mother," he returned her smile. "You're right though. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I knew you would ask, Shirou," the princess beamed up at his offer. "I've been hoping that you could somehow help me with dealing punishment to…to those bastards."

Shirou grinned as Henrietta chuckled lightly, flushing again. He was glad to see that his Master still had a humor and relaxing side to her as well. Obviously, his chase with the maids earlier was another indicator to that statement.

_It's good for her, _Shirou thought. _I was worried that she would be too caught up in her problems and forget to have fun. But it looks like I was wrong._

"But before that," she continued after awhile. "I'll need to know more about your abilities so we can make plans accordingly. I'm sure that creating swords isn't the only thing you can do, right?"

"Of course not, Your Highness," Shirou shook his head. "Here, please sit down and let me show you more. By the way, do you want some more tea?"

* * *

><p>"It's delicious," Henrietta exclaimed excitedly after taking a sip of the tea made by Shirou. "You're really good at this, Shirou."<p>

"It's one of my abilities in case you need to take note of," the boy smiled brightly. "That and cooking, or any house chore in general."

"You're kidding," the princess's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would a Noble…"

"Again, I'm not a Noble, Your Highness," Shirou reminded her. "At least not at where I came from. I used to live by myself when I was a kid, so it's natural for me to have to cook and do chores. Apparently I've taken a liking to it."

"Where're your parents…?"

"Dead," Shirou simply shrugged. "They died in a fire when I was about five years old. I was adopted soon after but my adoptive father also passed away not long after that."

"Oh…I'm sorry, Shirou. I didn't mean to…" Henrietta brought her hands up to cover her gasp as she looked at him apologetically.

_It was so insensitive of me. Why else a kid would have to live by himself? _She thought, couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy in front of her. The princess herself knew the pain of losing a parent. She was still much luckier to have her mother, while her familiar had lost both of his parents, then even his adoptive one. And he still so young back then. Not that he was old now though.

"Don't worry about it," he waved his hand. "It happened a long time ago."

Henrietta stared at him for a moment, but didn't say anything as she knew better than pursuing the subject. She then asked.

"So you're going to show me your other abilities?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Shirou nodded and emptied his tea before handing her his cup. She looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he was doing. "As I've told you, I have an ability that I can use to strengthen my clothes called 'Reinforcement'. You've probably figured out what it does based on its name. Here, try to smash this cup on the floor."

Hesitating but couldn't deny that she was also feeling excited, Henrietta reached out, taking the cup in her hand. She then cast an uncertain look at her familiar. After receiving his encouraging nod, she raised her arm and threw down the cup as hard as she could. To her surprise, it wasn't the shattering noise like she was expecting. Instead, a loud dry 'clang' could be heard, and the cup remained intact without even a dent.

"Wow," Henrietta exclaimed. "If it is what I think it is, then this is a very useful spell you have there, Shirou."

"Indeed," Shirou nodded with a smile. "It strengthens its targets. Not just harden them, mind you. For example, if I were to use it on a sword, said sword would become sharper as well. And If used on a human body…"

"Then that person's attributes will raise," the princess nodded in awe. Of course, in her world, there were strengthening Runes. But their effects weren't as flexible as Shirou's 'Reinforcement', not to mention the need of engraving complex Runes arrays before it can be used. Compared to Shirou's instant casting without even her noticing, it was clear which one was the better. "It's a very useful spell to have," she told him with a smile.

"It is, isn't it?" Shirou, on the other hand, replied with a crooked grin. "Unfortunately, 'Reinforcement is a double edged sword," he said while bending down to pick up the cup. "It works by having the caster transfers his prana, or magical energy, into the target, strengthening it. However, each object only has a certain limit on how much it can be reinforced. It can't accept any more prana once that limit is reached."

"What happen if the caster forces it to?" Henrietta asked, knowing the answer wasn't going to be a pleasant one.

"Well, here," her familiar simply shrugged, flicking his head toward the cup in his hand. And just a second later, the cup shattered and exploded into many small pieces, causing Henrietta to yelped in shock and surprise.

"Imagine that happening to a human's body," he said before noticing the look on her face. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. Especially right before the meal…"

"No, it's alright," Henrietta murmured with wide eyes, trying to push away the gory image of an exploding human body. She then looked at Shirou and asked gravely. "And you've been using that dangerous spell? I knew you've used it on your body too. You wouldn't give that example otherwise…"

"That's right, Your Highness," Shirou smiled at her. "Most of the magi from my world considered it too risky to even attempt…"

"And I can't say they're wrong."

"Right. But there's another thing you need to know about your familiar. I'm a unique mage. Rated by our own standards I'm just a third rate one, for my element doesn't allow me to perform spells effectively except for a few that normally considered useless by the others. That's why I spent all of my time and attention at mastering them."

"What do you mean by that, Shirou?" Henrietta asked. "Here in our world, Earth magic is one of the most widely used."

"Earth?" To her surprise, Shirou raised an eyebrow. "No, I think you've mistaken, Your Highness. My element isn't Earth. It's 'Sword'."

"Sword?" She repeated after him, totally confused.

"I take it also is one of the irregular here," he said while gathering the broken pieces of the cup.

"It doesn't even exist here," Henrietta murmured, surprised, but no doubt found the revelation to be very interesting. A whole new magic system had been opened In front of her, brought by her familiar. And while the princess wasn't certain if she could learn to use it or not, she still wanted to know everything possible about it. After all, in her mind, knowledge was power.

"You never know," Shirou chuckled. "Anyway, it took me a lot of trials and errors to figure out my body's limit. Through the use of another skill of mine - 'Structure Analysis' as you can call it; I've been able to inspect my own body and experiment on it. A painful progress, I have to admit. But the result is totally worth it."

The princess froze in place hearing her familiar's explanation. _Is he insane? _She thought. It was unthinkable for anyone to do what the boy had done. _Even some of my most driven scholars won't go to such extend, risking their own lives like that…_

However, before Henrietta was able to voice her question, they were interrupted by some knocks on the door, informing them that it was dinner time. With a sigh, she turned back to Shirou.

"I'm sorry, but I think we have to stop here. Can you please escort me to the dining hall?"

"Absolutely, Your Highness. We can continue this tomorrow," Shirou nodded with a gentle smile. The two of them then left Henrietta's room.

The princess felt no appetite at the moment though. Her head was filled with questions about Shirou. If anything, his explanation only confused her more. What kind of person was he? Henrietta trusted that he was a good person, seeing his strong disapproval of manipulating the commoners' minds. But she also knew that there were more to her familiar than he let on. He didn't seem to shy away from her questions though. So maybe once they had the chance to talk more…

On the other hand, that 'magecraft' thing Shirou was using, especially the 'Reinforcement' spell, while it was quite useful, it was also appeared to be highly dangerous. Remember what happened to the cup sent a shiver down the princess's spine. Shirou was confident about his ability. But what if he messed up somehow in the future? There was no guarantee that he wouldn't after all. And Henrietta would hate it if her familiar injured, or even killed himself using such dangerous art, especially when he was on a task assigned by her. She summoned him here after all, so it was her responsibility to see to his well being as much as possible.

_Should I ask him to restrict its use? _ She wondered. According to Shirou, he had done experiments on his own body, so he had to have a grasp, even vague, about his own limit. She didn't think he would argue if she told him not to approach that line too closely if he could help it.

_Well I guess I'll have to talk with him tomorrow then, _Henrietta sighed heavily before realizing that she wasn't alone. Looking behind, she noticed Shirou and two of Agnes's guards were looking at her with concern. Feeling her cheeks heated up a little, the princess gave them a reassuring smile before quickening her pace. Marianne didn't like it when she was late for meal times, and Henrietta knew better than to upset her mother. However, there was still a final question that she wanted to ask her familiar.

"Shirou," turning back once again, Henrietta asked. "How did you escape the maids earlier?"

"Please spare my dignity," Shirou grimaced and refused to answer, making her and the two guards next to him giggled at his embarrassment.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Shirou found himself wandering the castle's exterior, applying his 'Structure Analysis' here and there. He had determined to figure out and remember the place's lay out as much as possible after the chase with the maids. Normally, it would take weeks for him to completely scan the whole area. But with Henrietta's prana supply, he could keep on doing so without having to rest for a long time.<p>

It was rather late, and the princess had returned to her room after dinner. Since servants and familiars weren't allowed to eat with their Master, Shirou had to stand beside her during the meal, and went to get his own after she had finished. Not that he mind though. He wanted to find out more about her, so watching her talking with her mother was a good opportunity just as any. Shirou noticed that dinner time was considered their relaxing time, as the two of them only talked about everyday mundane things.

He was pretty amused when Marianne once again decided to tease Henrietta about her relationship with Wales. It seemed like they were cousin, related by blood even. But from what he heard, it wasn't such a big deal here in this world. Besides, he had seen too much weirdness in his own life so something like that wasn't enough to greatly surprise him. Also, he had spent years living amongst magi at the Clock Tower. Needless to say, 'moral' was one of the least regarded concept there.

_Wales seemed to be a good guy though, _Shirou mused. During the meal, he had heard both the Henrietta and her mother complimented the prince. And if he truly was that good of a guy, it wasn't a surprise that his Master fell in love with him. Heck, Shirou probably would too if he was a girl. Blond, handsome, intelligent with great charisma, not to mention that the guy was also powerful in his own right, and on top of that, he was a prince. What was there not to love about a guy like that? Ignoring the fact that his head was currently wanted by the rebellion of course.

_I wish those bloody rebels could be deal with quickly, _Shirou sighed heavily. Henrietta might not realize it, but sometimes, he could catch her casting longing looks out of the window. She looked so lonely during those moments, making his 'helping people thing' act up. Shirou had even intended to go to Albion and break the rebellion's siege himself, or at least kidnapping that Wales guy back here so that the two of them could meet, even just for a little while. However, the realization soon dawned on him that he didn't have a clue of where Albion was and how to get there. Not to mention Shirou was completely clueless about the rebellion's army size, what weapon they used, or any spell/special ability they had. His utter lack of knowledge about this world's magic system didn't help either. Frankly speaking, there were too many variables, too many things that could go wrong if he were to attempt such attack.

Kidnapping the Prince Charming was even more out of question. He was the leader of the Albion's force. If he were to disappear, it would surely cause chaos within their ranks, making them fall even sooner.

And lastly, but also the most important reason that held Shirou back, was that Henrietta needed him here in Tristain. She needed him to help her clearing out the worms that were corrupting the country's government. That was the first step to strengthen their stance against the invasion should Albion fell. Sadly, from what Shirou gathered, the downfall of Albion would happen sooner or later. That much was certain, unless a miracle happened.

In the end, Shirou could only pray that Wales would at least come out of it alive, regardless the inevitable result. He didn't want to see Henrietta with a broken heart. However, deep inside his mind, Shirou knew that the chance of that happening was slim, if not downright impossible. If what he heard about the blond prince was true, then it wasn't likely that that guy will abandon his comrades to save his own skin.

_I don't know how, not now. But I will think of some way to keep that guy alive, _Shirou thought. That shouldn't happen, Henrietta loved him. She needed him to live and be with her, not to die for his honor. Besides, as long as Wales was alive, there was still a chance for him to retake Albion from the rebellion. _That's right, as long as he doesn't die, there's always hope._

Shaking his head and sighing, Shirou returned to scan the castle's lay out, deciding that it was still too soon to worry about such things. His top priority now should be helping out Henrietta and learning more about this world. He wasn't a Servant, so there wasn't any knowledge provided for him after the summoning ritual. That wasn't a big deal though. Shirou could totally manage studying on his own.

That was a surprising and unexpected result of his 'Reinforcement' experiments on his body. During one of the sessions, Shirou had got an idea, one that was both brilliant and foolish. He wanted to know what would happen if he tried to reinforce his brain. And that was exactly what he did. At first, Shirou had got splitting headache and a severe bleeding nose, but he didn't give up. After awhile, his brain started to adjust to the changes and he was actually benefited from doing so. Obviously, with a strengthened brain, Shirou could process information at an inhuman rate. He could see things in slow motion, which took him a lot of time to get used to and reinforcing other body parts to be able to match his brain's reaction speed. But nevertheless, that was a big advantage on the battle field.

The second benefit was that Shirou could now read much faster and remember things way better than any normal people with his reinforced brain, which made study become much easier than it should. He still remembered how envious Rin was when she first discovered his new found ability. It wasn't his fault though. He risked his life for it, so he had every right to use that ability to his advantage.

The only downside was that the human brain wasn't made to withstand the pressure of being reinforced for an extended period of time. During battles, Shirou could only use it about ten minutes before the side effects started showing, which included headache and nosebleed. It was better when he was just studying, not moving around much. Shirou recalled that he had lasted an hour in his last study session before being forced to cancel the reinforcement. For a normal person, an hour of study may not be anything big. But under the spell's influence, Shirou was able to read and remember way more that what a normal person could do in at least seven hours. Needless to say, for any outside observer, all that person could see was Shirou flipping through the books and scrolls with an inhuman speed, since he had to reinforces his hands, arms and eyes as well, to match the brain's speed.

"Seems like I got lucky for once," Shirou chuckled softly. It was only then he realized that it was really late. He had walked around the entire castle once and was now memorizing all of its passages and hallways as well as rooming placements. He was quite surprised to figure out that there were many hidden passages within the castle's walls, no doubt used by the servants to move around quickly within such a large building.

_So that's how those maids managed to always catch up to me no matter where I went, _he grimaced. _But now that I know about their secret, it'll never happen again._

"You, what're you doing out here at this time," suddenly, a familiar voice called from behind, making Shirou turned around. Standing not far away from him was the Musketeer Captain – Agnes. She was wearing full set of her armor, which wasn't anything unusual. However, on a closer look, Shirou also noticed that she was sweating all over and her breathing was a bit short.

"Good evening, Captain," he greeted her with a smile. "I was just taking a walk. Do you always practice this late? That's admirable."

"Save your flattery," Agnes snarled. "I'm not your friend and I'm not here to have a chat. Say, what're you planning to do with the princess?"

"Helping her," Shirou answered truthfully. "But really? You really expect someone with ulterior motives to answer that question?"

"I'll just make him, nevertheless," glaring at him, the guard captain placed a hand on her blade's hilt. "And don't fool me. You suddenly showed up from nowhere and now you're claiming wanting to help the princess? I don't trust you."

"You said it. I just showed up from nowhere, so what do I have against the princess that makes me want to harm her? I didn't even know she was a princess in the first place," he retorted with a sigh. "And hello? In case you forgot, it was the princess herself who summoned me, forcefully pulled me away from my home world. If anyone has the right to doubt and complain, it should be me."

"Why is that? You're now her personal guard. You're in the perfect position. What's there to complain?"

"How about the friends and plans that I have to leave back home and disappeared without saying a word?"

"That's…" For the first time since Shirou met the woman, she seemed to be at a loss of word.

"It's alright though," he shrugged, making Agnes raised an eyebrow. "I've always wanted to help people. So if the princess needs my help. I'll be willing to provide. I think we're alike in that aspect. Why can't we just be friends?"

Staring at him questioningly for awhile, Agnes finally answered. "Because I don't trust you," she said simply. "You've just arrived for over a day, and haven't done anything worth noting, besides pressing your bloody blade against the princess's neck, that's it," she spat out angrily. "I'm not her. I don't trust people that easily. And I'm sure that I have no intent of being friend with someone whom I can't trust."

"Fair enough," Shirou sighed. It was also like this back when he had first take part in missions with the Enforcers. Some of them didn't trust him at all. It was only after he was able to prove his worth on the battle field that they started to warm up to him. "I guess it can't be helped. I understand your reason though."

"At least you're smart, unlike some scatter brains that I've met," Agnes replied sternly before walking past him to return to her quarter. "Watch your back, Emiya, for I will closely watch over your every move. If I find out the slightest hint that you mean harm for the princess…"

Agnes didn't finish her sentence. But Shirou knew well enough to understand her. Watching her disappear toward the castle's front gate, he couldn't resist the smile that was sneaking onto his face.

"First your mother, now your Guard Captain. You certainly have good people who really care for you, Your Highness," Shirou murmured softly in amusement. He was happy for her.

_Well, it's time to come back, _he thought while stretching his body. _I can practice my magecraft a little before going to bed. After all, I don't need much sleep. Tomorrow I will expand my scan to the castle's exterior areas._

With that in mind, Shirou also turned and slowly walk toward the castle's gate, all the while enjoying the cool night breezes that were gently caressing him.

* * *

><p>Agnes had returned to her room after her daily practice. After a bath to clean herself of the sweats and dirt, the Musketeer Captain then prepared to turn in for the day. However, her thoughts were still lingering around a certain auburn haired boy and their recent encounter.<p>

_Who is he, really? _She wondered. Despite her limited knowledge about magic, Agnes knew that human summoning was unheard of. However, it was the princess herself who claimed that she had no doubt summoned him. She even went as far as making him her personal guard – a position that Agnes herself wanted. The guard captain couldn't help but felt a tingle of jealousy when she first heard of the announcement.

However, Agnes also knew that her distrust toward the boy didn't come from jealousy. No, she was better than that. It was simply how she was. After all, she didn't get this far without being cautious. And a stranger, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and took the princess hostage certainly wasn't someone to be trusted easily, if not at all.

But again, Agnes was obviously taken aback when Shirou told her what his intention toward the princess was. _Helping her__, _he said. Did he really think she would buy that? No, of course not.

_But he looked so sincere when he said that, _another part of her retorted. _Nonsense, they were nothing but empty words. Until I see his actions, I'm not going to trust him the slightest._

Agnes had been observing the boy closely for most of the time. And she was disappointed from not being able to discover anything about the mysterious familiar, be it good or bad. He'd even let the maids chase him around for hours for Brimir's sake, just because he didn't want to wear the guard outfit.

_What is that bastard playing? _Gritting her teeth in annoyance, the Guard Captain then quickly trying to calm herself down. After all, she couldn't do anything to him now as he had the princess's protection. But as soon as he slipped and let out something suspicious…

_Until then, I'll just keep an eye on him, _Agnes told herself as she climbed into bed. It was late, and she still needed to wake up early tomorrow for her patrol. It wouldn't do to have the Captain dozed off while on duty. She had to set an example for her squad. That was still her first and most important priority at the moment.

With that in mind, Agnes closed her eyes and let the sleepiness took over her mind. Not knowing that by the following day, she would receive an order from none other than Henrietta, one that she wasn't going to enjoy at all.

**End of Chapter 2.**


	3. Taking actions (1)

_**Author's note:**_

**Another chapter's out. Thank you very much for your support.**

**There's really nothing much to say about the chapter, except for a little spoiler that there will be action at the end. But everybody should've figured it out based on the chapter title already.**

**Finally, I want to give my special thanks to ****souvikkundu0017, who had made a big contribution for the story, regarding information about Nasuverse. I'm very grateful for his support.**

**That's all for now, please enjoy.**

_**Beta by: **__**Euphonia. Thank you for taking your time to beta my work.**_

_**P/S: Updated: Changed Excalibur with Caliburn due to technical issue (lol?). Also note to self: Listen to your beta more!**_

* * *

><p>Lying on her bed, Agnes was trying her best to fall asleep as she still had guard duty the following morning. However, as much as she wanted to just close her eyes and drift off, it didn't happen.<p>

She had too many things on her mind at the moment. It had been a crazy couple of days after all. Things had been out of control since the day of the stranger named Shirou Emiya's sudden arrival. However, whatever Agnes had suspected of the boy was completely thrown off track because of what she had witnessed after their conversation in the castle's courtyard.

Before, to her, Shirou was just a suspicious commoner who might or might not have been summoned by the Princess and made her personal guard. He could be dangerous given his unrefined appearance and his close position with the Princess despite being a newcomer. But he was nothing that Agnes couldn't handle should the need arise.

Now, however, she wasn't so sure. The shocking revelations about that boy during the last few days had left a strong impression in her mind. Agnes had watched his test in front of the whole Council, and had observed him on his first mission. Not to mention the piece of secret that the Princess was pressured into sharing with her at none other than Shirou's insistence - though with that bit of information added into the mix, many things had indeed become easier to explain.

_What he did on the test was going to become an excellent material for the rumour mill for sure,_ Agnes sighed; even she couldn't deny how extraordinary that was. And if what she suspected turned out to be right, then Shirou was soon going to become a sort of celebrity amongst the commoners within the castle… no… maybe even the entire country if news travelled fast and spread widely enough. _And Brimir forbid, the maids are on an entirely different level when it comes to spreading juicy gossip and rumours…_

Sighing deeply once again, Agnes finally gave up the idea of sleeping early and got off her bed. Maybe a stroll through the courtyard would help clear the mess inside her head. Normally alcohol would be the better and quicker choice, but she wasn't one to rely on such a thing all the time - especially before, or during, her patrol shift.

"It's all bloody Emiya's fault if I don't get enough sleep," she grimaced.

_Nothing had been the same, or even normal ever since his arrival..._ With that in mind, Agnes stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her back.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two days earlier...<strong>_

"With all due respect, I'm afraid I can't accept what you've just ordered me to do, Your Highness," bowing deeply, Agnes said with a firm voice. Sitting in front of the guard captain, Henrietta was staring at her with widened eyes. It was completely understandable though, for Agnes to go against a direct order from her Princess was a rare occurrence.

After a while the Princess asked, "Why is that?"

"You're asking me to work together with someone whom I don't trust. That's not possible, Your Highness," Agnes replied solemnly. "We've been gathering information just like you instructed. But I can't share them with a complete stranger who has only been here for a couple of days with unknown motives."

Taking a side-glance, she caught sight of the person she was talking about. Shirou was also summoned to this private meeting. And from the start, the boy had just stood there while the Princess gave her orders and instructions. Now, however, he was looking at her with a blank expression. All the while appearing not to be affected by her distrusting words at all.

_Well, that's to be expected,_ Agnes thought with a mental shrug. _He must be as thick as a board to not know how I feel about him after everything._

"Agnes," Henrietta's voice pulled the guard captain out of her thoughts. "I assure you that Shirou has my utmost trust and confidence."

"Your Highness, may I speak my mind?" In return, Agnes only replied with a question of her own after taking a quick look at her Princess. She then continued after receiving permission.

"Forgive my rudeness, but I've been close to you and serving you for years. I'm quite certain that I'd realize it if you were not telling the truth."

From her seat, Henrietta blushed and stared at her after the statement. However, Agnes silently released a sigh of relief. It wouldn't be good if the Princess had truly trusted a suspicious newcomer who had taken her hostage, even if he was a summoned familiar. Of course, Agnes knew that Henrietta wasn't all that trusting despite her young age. But it still worried her sometimes. The Princess was too kind and gentle for her own good, especially during this dangerous time. Her father had just passed away and her position was now very unstable due to all the oppositions from her own Council. And then there was still the possible invasion that could happen anytime now...

The King was assassinated. Of that much Agnes was certain. And she was sure that Henrietta also shared the same suspicion. They had no proof to back up such a claim, but that was the only reasonable explanation. The King's excellent health aside, the timing of his death right after his decision to make major changes in order to prepare the country for a possible invasion was questionable. Not to mention the fact that the rebellion suddenly became stronger and more vicious right after his death, forcing back Albion's force (which was clearly winning before the tragedy).

Obviously, that left Agnes to believe that there were traitors within their ranks who had connections with the rebellion. It wasn't a small feat to sneak into the castle undetected and then assassinate a tightly guarded King after all. And whoever did it managed to make it look like his target simply died peacefully in his sleep, without leaving a single trace, while the Queen was sleeping right next to him. During her time serving the royal family, Agnes had never seen a more shocked and devastated look than the one reflected on Henrietta and Marianne's faces when the Queen woke up the following morning only to discover that her husband was dead.

Soon after, Henrietta was made the Crown Princess. That was a move that Agnes strongly disapproved of. But the sad truth was that her voice carried no weight at all. Of course, she totally understood Marianne's grief over the King's death. But wasn't it irresponsible of her to push the duty of ruling an entire crumbling kingdom on the shoulder of her own daughter, who happened to be only seventeen years of age?

"Your Highness," suddenly from her side, Shirou spoke up and yanked Agnes out of her train of thoughts. "I believe that the Captain is right..." He then received a surprised stare from both girls, but he ignored them and continued. "If you want us to work as a team, you have to let us build some trust first. I have prior experience with working in a group, and I can tell you that not trusting your partner can endanger the entire mission. For that matter, I also have to say that I don't know just what the Musketeer Corp is capable of... It's not that I don't trust them, but rather their skill is what I'm concerned about."

"Excuse me. We're the best trained division of this country besides the Griffin squadron," Agnes glared at him, feeling a bit insulted. How dare he question the quality of the troops that she herself selected and trained?

"And how exactly am I supposed to know that?" Shirou raised an eyebrow, unfazed by her fierce glare. "You don't trust my words about my sincerity, and yet you expect me to take yours without question?"

"That's because there's nothing to question," she grunted, placing her hand on her sword. "How about I show you right here and now?"

"Agnes!" Henrietta raised her voice, snapping the guard captain out of her anger.

Bashfully turning back to face the Princess, Agnes once again lowered her head and said, "My apologies, Your Highness, for getting out of line in your presence."

"You're forgiven," Henrietta nodded, but clearly wasn't happy about the situation if her frown was anything to go by. She then turned to her familiar.

"Shirou, I understand your concern. But the Musketeer squadron has been serving this country for a very long time, and their skill is not something I'd doubt. However," she quickly raised a hand before Shirou could retort. "I understand your point. And seeing you take such caution to ensure the success of this mission pleases me. As it is, I give you permission to join Agnes and her squadron in the information gathering run tonight. You are to only observe and do nothing else. I'm certain that it will give you a better understanding of their skill. Is that acceptable?"

After hesitating for a moment, Shirou accepted the proposal. Agnes had no objection either. After all, his statement from earlier still stung a bit. It was a chance to show the bastard just exactly what they were capable of. As long as he didn't get in the way, of course.

"And Agnes," the Princess turned to her. "I now see that my words alone aren't enough to convince you of Shirou's truthfulness. So instead of asking you to blindly trust him, I wish for you to give him a chance. Is this possible?"

After thinking hard for a moment, Agnes finally sighed. "May I ask why you insist on him joining us, Your Highness? Our squadron alone is enough to bring back whatever proof you need to bring down the corrupted nobles. We've never failed you before."

"Yes, and for that I'm very grateful," Henrietta smiled gently. "But I'm sure that Shirou's abilities are needed. You'll see for yourself once you witness him in action. We need to handle this as quietly and covertly as possible in order not to tip off our targets before we bust them. And I think you'll agree that some of your methods for bringing down protection wards before breaking in aren't exactly...quiet, are they?"

"You're right, Your Highness," Agnes agreed grudgingly. Henrietta was spot on. In order to bring down wards they would have to either attack them until they collapsed, or find the ward stones and destroy them with explosives. Neither of those methods could be considered 'quiet', not to mention time consuming. However...

"So you're saying that Emiya can do it better than us? Taking down the wards quietly, I mean," she asked, glancing at the auburn haired boy.

"I can, and much quicker too," Shirou confirmed with a nod. "Your Highness has already explained the wards to me. So if what I suspect is true, I can take them down without much concern."

"So you're not sure about it either?" Agnes rolled her eyes.

"Of course, how can I be sure if I know next to nothing about your magic system?"

"Then how are you going to do it?"

"I don't want to reveal that now," Shirou shook his head slowly. "I want to test it first. I'll tell you after the test."

"And you ask me why I don't trust you," Agnes grumbled, obviously annoyed. "How can I trust you if you keep withholding this kind of information from us?"

However, before the boy could open his mouth to answer, Henrietta replied for him, "Agnes, I ordered him to keep it a secret. And we will reveal it to you if it's a success. In fact, it was Shirou himself who suggested letting you know about it in the first place."

The guard captain's eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment before turning back to look at Shirou. She then sighed, resigning to the fact that further argument would lead her nowhere. She realized the firmness in Henrietta's voice, and she had gone against the Princess's orders enough for the day. "I understand, Your Highness. If that's what you wish, I'll obey."

"Very well," Henrietta nodded with a smile before turning to her familiar and said with a frown on her face. "Shirou, there's something else I want to inform you. In the meeting earlier, the Council has demanded that you to take part in a public test for the position of my personal guard."

Agnes's eyebrows rose as she quickly scanned the boy's face. To her surprise, he was still wearing that indifferent expression. His eyes only squinted for a second before he sighed, as if resigning to the unavoidable fate.

"You're not surprised?" Henrietta asked.

"A little," Shirou shrugged. "It's not unexpected though. I know I'm a unique case, but normally there should be some proper tests for these important positions."

"That's true," the Princess agreed. "However, I have no doubt that this time the test is nothing more than a scheme to make me look bad for summoning and choosing you."

"That's very likely," the boy nodded. "So what will I have to do?"

"A duel with a high ranking officer this afternoon in front of the whole Council. In fact, I'm pretty sure they will match you with Viscount Wardes..."

"He's the best knight in the whole country, captain of the Griffin squadron," Agnes explained before Shirou could ask.

"They're ensuring that you have no chance of winning, Emiya," she grunted, feeling her anger building up.

No matter how much she hated and distrusted the boy, it was still unfair to arrange a match like that. "Your Highness, I'm sure that you've realized what they're doing. A commoner can't win against Viscount Wardes."

"Sadly, there's not much I can do," Henrietta shook her head. "Imagine what will happen if I refuse? The Council, corrupted as it is, still carries enough weight in their voice. It would be too suspicious if I insist on Shirou being close to me without a proper test."

Agnes couldn't argue with that. Of course, with Shirou losing the duel, there might be a chance of him being separated from the Princess, which would ease her mind a little. However, such unfairness was unacceptable. Being as suspicious as he was the boy had done nothing to deserve being treated in such a way - with the exception of him taking the Princess hostage of course. To which Agnes didn't want to admit, but knew, that it could be nothing more than a misunderstanding. After all, it was her job to be suspicious of everything related to Henrietta.

"I have no choice in the matter, do I?" Next to her, Shirou sighed in resignation. "Fine, I'll take him on."

"But you can't win against..." Agnes started, only to be interrupted.

"We won't know until I try, will we?" He said. "I don't think a proud knight such as himself would use his magic against a commoner. And if it comes down to pure sword skill, I'm quite confident in mine. If I can't win, I can at least show the Council that I'm not a weak random commoner chosen by Your Highness for whatever obscure reason."

"Like they would see it that way," she snorted sarcastically.

In return, Shirou just shrugged without saying anything. It was only then Agnes noticed that Henrietta was watching their exchange with clear amusement.

However, the Princess only gave them a knowing smile before saying, "It's settled then. The duel will be at the courtyard after the afternoon meeting. I'll see you there, Shirou. And you may come and watch as well, Agnes."

Agnes accepted the invitation. It was a good chance to see just how good the mysterious Shirou really was. After that, Henrietta concluded the meeting. The Princess and Shirou went back to their respective rooms while Agnes resumed her patrol around the castle, pondering about what she had just been told.

* * *

><p>Upon returning to his room, Shirou closed the door and approached his bed. He then reached under the sheet and pulled out a traced version of Caliburn that he had made the previous night, after the meeting with Agnes in the courtyard.<p>

Placing it on his bed, Shirou then applied a quick 'Structure Analysis' on the sword. And the result brought a grin onto his face.

_My suspicion is spot on,_ he thought with glee.

The idea had formed in his head the previous night, while practicing his magecraft. It was clear that he had been summoned into another world, and that had made Shirou wonder if Gaia was present here. If she was, then how strong was her presence here?

With that in mind, he had tried tracing Caliburn and simply left it under the sheet. Shirou was astonished with the quality of his 'Tracing' though. Back in his home world he could create near perfect copies of weapons, with only a single decrease in rank for Noble Phantasms.

This time however, after a quick scan over the sword he concluded that it was no different from the original one wielded by Saber. That by itself had already confirmed that Gaia's presence was at least very weak here, perhaps even non-existent.

And today's result pleased Shirou even more, the scan showed that the quality of his Caliburn hadn't decreased at all. Shirou could hardly contain his excitement. Needless to say, it had only been half a day or so since the sword's creation. He would need more time to be completely sure that Gaia didn't exist in this world. But should it be true, countless possibilities would be open for him to further his study in magecraft. Not to mention that he now had a large supply of prana from his Master.

_Imagine being able to summon Unlimited Blade Works without having to maintain it constantly..._Shirou shivered a little at the thought. It would be a blast on the battlefield. That much was a given. But exactly how much prana would be drained from Henrietta if he were to manifest his greatest weapon? There was also still the matter of hiding his real strength. Something as flashy as a reality marble would bust him for sure. Obviously if they managed to strengthen Henrietta's position, then there would be a day when all the secrecy wouldn't be needed anymore. However, for the time being Shirou was content with finding a chance to test it out in secret. Using Unlimited Blade Works in a real battle could wait.

_Speaking of secrecy..._ He thought, remembering about the meeting they just had. Telling Agnes about him being able to use magic was a risky, but necessary move. Henrietta had made him swear to only reveal the secret if Shirou managed to bring down the wards with his method though. Shirou didn't mind. According to what the Princess had explained about wards and bounded fields of this world, he should be able to do so without much problem.

Shirou also wanted to gain Agnes's trust. She was loyal and trustworthy, if her actions were anything to judge by. If they were going to be partners, then she had all the rights to know about his abilities and potentials so that they could plan their missions accordingly.

"That girl sure is a surprise," Shirou snorted dryly.

Earlier, Agnes had actually defended him against the unfairness of the Tristain's Council. Or at least she was feeling angry on his behalf. He had made no mistake by assuming that their relationship had improved. However, her action had further proved that despite her stern attitude towards him, Agnes was a good person. Which was even more of a reason not to hide the truth from her once they started working together.

"Shirou, may I enter?" Henrietta's voice from the other side of the door interrupted his thoughts.

He then stood up and opened the door. The Princess was waiting outside together with a maid carrying a leather bag.

"You can leave it over there," Henrietta said, pointing at the tea table.

The maid quickly carried out her order and left the room, but not before subtly throwing Shirou a mischievous smirk. No doubt to remind him of the chase the previous day. He did nothing more than grimacing a little in reply though.

"The maids seem to like you," Henrietta commented with a hint of amusement after they had been left alone.

"What girl doesn't love her dress up doll?" Shirou answered sarcastically, making the Princess chuckled softly.

"It's all thanks to you, Your Highness."

"You're welcome. Some men would do anything to be that popular you know?"

Shirou just rolled his eyes without saying anything. With a bright smile, Henrietta finally dropped the subject.

She then proceeded to sit down beside the table and told him, "The materials for your outfit had arrived."

Shirou then checked the contents of the bag. Everything on the list he gave her was in it, plus some extra.

"Isn't this too much?" He asked. "I can make the outfit with my 'Alteration' spell, so there's no need for spares in case of a mistake."

"Well, you never told me how you were going to make it," Henrietta replied.

"Oh, that's right," Shirou scratched his head. "My apologies, Your Highness. May I start now? It only takes a few seconds after all."

After that, he placed the necessary materials on the table and applied 'Alteration' on them. Soon after, the materials started changing shape, snaking their way onto his body into a tight fitting black top and matching bottom with a similar design to Archer's armour, plus a pair of fingerless gloves. Shirou was careful enough to make this version long sleeved to hide the Familiar Runes on his arm, which shone whenever he used a spell.

"That was quick, and it fits you nicely too. Definitely better than the one you were wearing before," Henrietta stood up as he finished and walked around, checking out his new outfit. "It appears to be high quality as well. This can be compared to our best crafter's work..." She then pondered for a moment. "Can I make a suggestion though? How about adding a hood or something to cover your face with? Your facial features are very unique here. And I don't want anybody to see you out on a mission and recognize you as my personal guard. Especially when you're using magic, or magecraft."

"You have a point," Shirou replied after considering the idea for a moment. "I can add a hood and a mask. A hood alone should do the job though."

"It's up to you, as long as you don't let yourself get discovered."

"How about this then?" He asked, applying 'Alteration' on another piece of material, making it into a hood covering his hair and eyes.

"That should do it, yes," Henrietta nodded in approval after seeing the result. "No one will recognize you like this. But what if it falls off? And does it obstruct your vision?"

"It doesn't," Shirou shook his head. "And don't worry about it, Your Highness. I've made it so that it can't fall of easily unless it gets destroyed. I don't like wearing a mask, to be honest. In case the hood really gets destroyed, even with a mask on people would still recognize me by my hair anyway."

"That's true..." The Princess agreed. "Alright, let's move on then. Since we have some left over material here, how about making something else for you to wear within the castle? It isn't a good idea to walk around in the outfit that's supposed to be for your secret missions. Also, I'd like my personal guard to dress more... properly."

"Well, I can always alter this however I want though," Shirou shrugged, before tweaking the design of his outfit, making the hood and the sleeves disappear. He then altered the rest of the leftover material, making them into a deep red long coat. Pausing for a moment to observe his own work, Shirou then produced the Tristain's coat of arms and etched it onto the coat's back before nodding in satisfaction. Turning to look at himself in the mirror, he could almost see a version of EMIYA looking at him. Of course, Archer didn't use a coat but rather a holy shroud for the outer layer of his outfit, and his hair wasn't auburn like Shirou's.

"Very impressive, indeed," Henrietta smiled brightly after witnessing the progress. "Your power sure has a lot of use, doesn't it?"

"As long as I'm creative enough, Your Highness," he returned her smile. "So I take it this outfit has your approval?"

"I like it," she nodded. "Is your former one back home also like this? Or did you just think of this design by yourself?"

"I have some references," Shirou simply said. "And no, this one is different from what I have back home. I had to tweak it a little to cover the Familiar Runes. And of course, the hood is a new addition."

"I see. Great work, Shirou."

"Thank you," Shirou bowed a little at the compliment. "But I'm sure you're not here just for the outfit, Your Highness?"

With that question the smile quickly slipped of Henrietta's face, replaced by a solemn expression as she sighed. "You're right, Shirou. I also want to apologize for what happened this morning."

"You mean the duel with Viscount Wardes?" He raised an eyebrow. "I know you had no choice in the matter, Your Highness. You don't have to apologize for that. Besides, if the Council thinks he can beat me just because I can't use magic, they're in for a nasty surprise."

"I hope you're right, Shirou," the Princess smiled weakly. "But that's not all. I'm sorry for not trusting you too. It was just as Agnes said. And despite that I'm still giving you orders to act on my behalf. I feel like I'm just using you sometimes..." She bit her lower lip while avoiding Shirou's eyes.

"Forgive my rudeness, Your Highness," Shirou sighed after staring at her for a moment. "Sometimes you're too soft for the ruler of a kingdom on the verge of war. It's perfectly fine that you don't trust me completely. In fact, I'd be worried if you did. As you've already known, even though I'm your familiar, I'm not bound by the mind altering spell."

"Also, as a ruler, I think you need to be harder on yourself and your servants sometimes. Not abusing them, mind you. But a soft and indecisive leader won't be able to gain the trust of the people, especially in a time of war. And as for myself, please don't concern yourself with it. You might be using me, but it's done with my awareness and for the good of your country and people. That's a goal that I can approve of and wholeheartedly support. So as long as you stay firm on the track you're on, I have no complaints serving you as my Master and my Princess."

Henrietta's eyes widened at his words as she stared at him for several moments.

The Princess then blushed a little and replied with a smile. "Thank you, Shirou. That was very moving. You really know how to give speeches, don't you?"

"I was just speaking my mind, Your Highness," Shirou answered. "Please don't count on me to give speeches in the future or else you will be disappointed."

"We will have to see about that," Henrietta chuckled softly. She then stood up and slowly walked toward his bed. It was then Shirou realized that the Caliburn was still lying there in the open. It wasn't like he had any need to hide it from her though.

"This is a very beautiful sword. One of your creations, I guess?" Looking at the Caliburn, the Princess commented. "May I hold it? Does it have a name?"

"Please go ahead," Shirou said. "Its name is Caliburn. But you're right though. That's only a copy that I made. The original sword belongs to a very famous King back in my home world."

"Only a mere copy, you say?" Henrietta murmured, fidgeting with the sword in her hands. "I can sense a great deal of power radiating from it... This is a very powerful artefact. If this is only a copy, then I can't imagine how much power the original holds..."

"Actually, my copy's power is very close to the real thing. I take pride in my works, you know? Maybe you'll be able to witness its radiance someday."

"Maybe," she nodded. "So why are you leaving it here? Do you not intend to use it against Viscount Wardes this afternoon?"

"No, I'll use something else for the duel," Shirou shook his head. "I'm just experimenting something with it. And so far it's giving me positive results."

"Oh, really? What's it about?"

"Simply put, it's to see how long my creations can last in this world," he explained. "Back in my world there's a being called Gaia, or the Will of the World. Within her presence, our prana can't exist for long outside of the caster's body. If I were still back there, I would have to constantly supply that sword with my prana to maintain its existence."

"You make it sound like that isn't the case here," Henrietta inquired with transparent interest.

"I can't be sure. But it's very likely that there isn't a Gaia here," Shirou nodded. "I made Caliburn last night and haven't supplied it with any prana ever since. But its condition is still perfect."

"You might be right about that," said the Princess as she placed the sword back onto the bed. "I've studied magic since I was a child. But there's been no mention of 'Gaia'. It may go by another name, of course. But as far as I know, our magical power doesn't disappear, even if it's outside of our bodies."

"I see. If that's true then it would be great. We will be able to save a lot of prana that way. But I still want to keep this experiment for a few more days just to be sure."

"Indeed. It never hurts to be careful," Henrietta smiled. "It's almost lunch time now. Can you please escort me to the dining hall? It wouldn't do to leave mother waiting. And I still have the afternoon meeting to attend."

"Of course, Your Highness. Just a moment..." Shirou then quickly went over and put the Caliburn back under the sheet before following his Master out of the room.

_And I still have a duel to prepare for,_ he thought.

In truth, Shirou wasn't too worried about the upcoming test. That didn't mean he wouldn't do his best though, since Henrietta's reputation was on the table. If he failed, the aftermath wouldn't be pretty.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Shirou was quietly enjoying a cup of tea inside his room when Agnes arrived to inform him that it was the appointed time for his test. Quickly getting up and grabbing Kanshou and Bakuya, which he had traced beforehand and wrapped inside a layer of cloth, Shirou strapped them onto his back and followed the guard captain to the courtyard.<p>

On the way, he had tried to strike a conversation several times. But for some reason, Agnes didn't look like she was in the mood for talking, which surprised Shirou a little, given how the girl had always let him know what she was thinking, especially when it concerned him. In the end, he just shrugged it off. Maybe it wasn't such a big deal. He still had a duel to focus on after all.

As they arrived at the destination Shirou said goodbye to her before walking toward the centre of the courtyard, and to his further surprise, Agnes stopped him before saying.

"Good luck out there," she said, much to his confusion. "I don't like you, but I can't stand the underhanded methods they are using to discredit the Princess. So for once, I'll trust your...confidence, as you stated."

"Wow..." Shirou murmured while staring at her with widened eyes. After a while, he grinned widely. "Thank you, Captain. I'll try my best not to disappoint you."

In return, Agnes glared sharply at him. "Maybe it would be better if you lost and got sent away after all," she said. "But there's still Your Highness's position to consider, so I won't forgive you if you embarrass her. Got it, Emiya?"

"Loud and clear," Shirou replied. Still grinning as Agnes turned around and returned to her position beside Henrietta, who was now eyeing him with concern. With a firm nod to reassure the Princess, Shirou then made his way toward where his opponent was waiting.

Viscount Wardes was a man in his late twenties with long white hair. Shirou realized that he had caught glimpses of the man several times inside the castle, though he hadn't known his name. Everything about the Viscount definitely said 'Noble', from the way he stood and walked, to how he looked at Shirou himself. Shirou could see the question in his eyes, wondering just why he had to be the opponent of a commoner. Wardes was looking down on him, but there was also a hint of curiosity hidden behind the indifferent mask he was wearing.

"You certainly look more like a guard now than the last time I saw you," the man said as Shirou stood in front of him. Taking a quick glance around, Shirou could see that besides the Council, there were also many others present to witness his duel as well. Most of them were Nobles though, except for a few guards from the Musketeer and Griffin squadron, and a couple of maids. People immediately started whispering the moment he stepped inside the courtyard. However, he paid them no mind.

"Thank you for the compliment, Viscount," Shirou bowed politely. "I figured that since my opponent is a royal knight, I should not appear to be disrespectful by wearing improper outfit."

"Oh..." Wardes raised an eyebrow. "Very well, are you ready then? We shouldn't waste too much time for this."

_Cheeky, aren't you?_ Shirou silently mocked as he raised both of his arms to grab the twin blades' handles. In front of him, his opponent was doing the same. "As ever. I'm ready when you are."

The two of them then drew their weapons while carefully eyeing each other. And just a moment later, Henrietta gave the signal. Without wasting any time, Shirou dashed ahead, intending to catch Wardes off guard with a flurry of strikes. He had the advantage when it came to attack speed after all.

* * *

><p>Agnes was astonished. A feeling that was certainly shared by Henrietta, who was now sitting beside her. Not much was known about the boy named Shirou, but there was one thing for certain: He was good, very good, when it came to his swords.<p>

_It seems like his confidence isn't baseless after all,_ she noted.

In the middle of the courtyard, Shirou was now pushing back Viscount Wardes – the best knight in Tristain. The boy had managed to throw his opponent off balance. The two blades in his hands keep striking without resting. Black and White steel danced in the air, without any wasted movement, not giving the defender a chance to counter. It spoke of serious and extensive training, not to mention the experience one needed to pull off such a relentless assault without making mistake.

For a moment, Agnes had hoped that Shirou actually had a chance to win the duel if the current situation kept up. After all, the best defense would have to fall facing such vicious attack, as long as the boy didn't mess up. However, her wish proved to be unable to come true just a few seconds later, as the Viscount suddenly sped up and regained his balance. With an insanely quick side step, he dodged Shirou's black sword as it made an arc up ward and started countering. Soon enough, Shirou had become the one who was put on the defensive against lightning quick thrusts from Wardes's sword.

_What now, Emiya? Your plan has failed,_ gritting her teeth; Agnes thought desperately, surprising herself to see that she was actually worrying about the auburn haired boy. _I hope he wasn't stupid enough to have only one course of action..._

* * *

><p>"Sir Mazarin," Henrietta turned to her regent and said angrily. "It's clear that Viscount Wardes used a minor wind spell to increase his speed. It's unfair against a commoner."<p>

"Indeed it is, Your Highness," Mazarin replied with a frown. Apparently, the regent himself was also displeased by how the event turned out. "However, the Council has decided that Viscount Wardes is allowed to use magic to aid him in this duel, seeing that his opponent was a high ranking guard you personally chose. If he can't face a little magic, then he's not qualified to protect you."

The Princess grimaced. Obviously she couldn't argue with that. All she could do now was to hope for the best. She knew that Wardes didn't have a good sense of magic like she did. So Shirou probably could reinforce himself a little bit without being busted to keep up with his opponent's enhanced speed. However, her familiar didn't know about that...

"Don't stress yourself too hard, Your Highness," next to her, Mazarin said, looking at her with concern. "Originally, Viscount Wardes had refused to use magic against a commoner opponent. But look at him now. Your familiar has pushed the best knight of Tristain into breaking his word. No matter how this duel turns out, I'll try to convince the Council that that boy is qualified enough to be your guard."

"Thank you, sir," Henrietta bowed politely, surprised by the action of the regent. This was the first time someone beside Agnes and her mother had openly showed support for her. "However, I don't think the other members will change their mind."

"It's worth a try, Your Highness," the man replied simply and returned to observe the fight.

Moved by Mazarin's words, Henrietta sat there and looked at the man for several seconds before turning her attention back to her familiar. No matter what he said, the chance of Shirou being accepted despite losing was extremely slim. If possible, Henrietta would like to avoid that scenario altogether.

_Don't lose, Shirou,_ she prayed earnestly. _I need your help, so don't lose now..._

* * *

><p>Oblivious to the concern of Agnes and Henrietta, Shirou Emiya was in fact, bored. To the eyes of the audience, he might appear to be pushed back. However, none of Wardes's attacks could truly threaten him, not even a little bit.<p>

His first plan to overwhelm his opponent with his twin blades' assault had failed, but only because the Viscount had used his magic to escape from the corner he had been boxed into. That by itself was enough to show whose pure sword skill was superior. It was true that right now, Wardes with his magical enchantments was faster than Shirou, who was still completely unreinforced. But compared to a certain blond swordswoman he knew, or even some of the high ranking Enforcers that Shirou had been given the chance to practice together with, the Viscount was still too slow. Not to mention his fighting style with Kanshou and Bakuya was specifically designed to fight against opponents that outclassed him.

In his mind Shirou knew that his opponent wasn't fighting at his full potential, and was still looking down on him by refusing to use his magic to the fullest. He wasn't bothered by it a bit, however. The Viscount was going to be in for a cruel awakening if he kept on fighting with that attitude. Despite that, Shirou himself was still holding back. He wanted to see what Wardes was going to do once he realized that all of his strikes weren't connecting and figured out Shirou's fighting style. A skilled swordsman would have no problem doing so after all.

_Just as I thought._

Subtly, Shirou grinned a few seconds later as Wardes' attacks started picking up speed. He could also sense the gradually increasing amount of prana that the Viscount was using. His thrusts were now more violent and much faster, but still were nothing Shirou couldn't handle.

There was more, he knew it. However, it looked like the Viscount had no intention of going at full strength. No offensive spell was used, and even the enchantment he used wasn't at its strongest state. By now, Shirou had gotten impatient and decided to end the match. There was no use prolonging it if his opponent didn't take him seriously.

Using Kanshou to parry the attack aimed at his head, Shirou made a wide upward swing with Bakuya in his other hand. The strike would surely sever his target in half if it connected. However, Wardes reacted in time to pull back his own sword and blast the white blade away, immediately following with another thrust at Shirou's heart. Apparently, he wasn't called the best knight for nothing.

Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, Kanshou once again intercepted his sword. Having already figured out the pattern, Wardes instantly ducked, avoiding Bakuya going for his head while launching another strike, to which Shirou dodged with a spin. He then used the momentum to bring Kanshou down onto his opponent, forcing him to leap backward to avoid getting sliced. With another spin, Shirou threw Bakuya as hard as he could toward the man. Of course, Wardes avoided it easily by leaning aside. Around them, snickers and mocking snorts could be heard. It seemed like the audience thought that Shirou had thrown his weapon in a desperate attempt.

_They're all in for a surprise then._

Shirou then gripped Kanshou with both hands and charged ahead. With just one sword his attack speed decreased, only to be compensated by strength. Each of his attack blasted away Wardes's sword. But he wasn't fast enough to strike again before the man could reapply his defense.

It didn't keep up for long though. After getting over the surprise, Wardes was able to start his own attacks, slipping them in between Shirou's strikes and gradually forcing him to go on the defensive, which was admittedly significantly harder with only one sword.

_Just a little more,_ gritting his teeth as he parried another thrust, Shirou then caught a glimpse of Bakuya coming back behind Wardes. Being an experienced royal knight, the Viscount took no time to notice that Shirou's line of sight was now directed behind him, and sensed the approaching danger. He spun around, just in time to see Bakuya heading straight toward his face. Hastily bringing up his sword to block and send the white blade away again, Wardes then realized his mistake.

Just a brief moment of distraction was enough for Shirou. He dashed forward, putting his entire body weight into a single strike. A moment later, Viscount Wardes found the hilt of Kanshou slammed into his stomach, knocking the air out of him. Shirou did not let his opponent have time to recover, instantly punched the man as hard as he could with his empty hand, bringing him down on his back. The boy then immediately mounted the fallen opponent, locking his two arms under his knees. Catching Bakuya, he used it together with Kanshou to form a scissor pressed against Wardes's neck.

"It's over, Viscount," he said softly, but firmly. Under him, Wardes's eyes were widened in shock. The man, after staring at him for a long moment, started to burst into laughter, breaking the dreading silence that had fallen over the audience at the sudden turn of event.

"Very good. Very good. I've underestimated you big time, familiar," he said loudly and continued laughing. "I concede. The victory is yours this time."

With that, Shirou gave him a curt nod and stood up, allowing the man to follow as well. The audience on the other hand, was still too shocked to be able to speak.

"I have to say I didn't expect that," Wardes grinned after sheathing his sword. "How did you make your sword come back like that?"

"These two blades are a pair," Shirou simply shrugged. "If I throw one, it will always come back to the other."

"Impressive," the man nodded. "Well, as I said, you won this round. But next time I won't hold back anymore, and we will see who the better swordsman is."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

After that, Shirou turned away and started walking back to Henrietta's position. The Princess was beaming inside her seat while standing next to her was a gobsmacked Agnes with widened eyes.

However, just as he started walking away an old mage from the audience, whom Shirou guessed was a Council member, stood up and said, "The match didn't count. That commoner cheated by using a magical artefact."

Frowning, Shirou turned his gaze toward the man.

"How was that cheating, sir? I used whatever was available for me to win the duel fair and square. And you can expect me to do the same when protecting Your Highness. Or are you saying that I shouldn't use the magical artefact that belongs to me, even if her life was in danger?"

"Insolent boy, who gives you the right to speak to a noble like that?" Another one stood up and growled at Shirou. Their drama, however, didn't affect him in the slightest. The only thing that made him feel sick a little was how they reminded him the unfair treatment of commoners.

However, before he was able to give any further remarks, Marianne rose from the seat next to Henrietta's and spoke.

"Members of the Royal Council, please be rational," she said solemnly. "If I remember correctly, you've allowed Viscount Wardes to use his magic – which in fact he did, because you wished for the Princess's familiar to face a situation where magic is involved. So why would he not be allowed to do all within his ability to emerge victorious? Magical artefact or not, you didn't specifically ban him from using them, and so he has not violated any rule. Your argument is invalid."

On the other side of the Princess another man, who appeared to be the regent, also stood up.

"You're correct, Madam Marianne," he took a deep bow toward the former Queen. "Not to mention Viscount Wardes himself has conceded the match. I hereby announce the victor of the duel: Princess Henrietta's familiar – Shirou Emiya. He can now resume his duty as Your Highness's personal guard. I hope you will do your best to fulfill your duty."

"That much is certain, sir," Shirou bowed deeply, surprised at the sight of someone from the Council speaking for him.

_Well, they can't all be corrupted. I guess there're still some people who support the Royal Family._

And that concluded the duel between him and Viscount Wardes. As the crowd started to disperse, Shirou and a still shocked Agnes started escorting a beaming Henrietta and her mother back to their quarters. On the way, he swore that he could hear the Princess humming softly while Agnes was throwing him confused glances, mixed with glares.

_Well, that's one problem solved,_ Shirou sighed. _Now I still have tonight's information gathering run with the Musketeer squadron to look forward to..._

_**To be continued...**_


End file.
